Broken Road
by SapphireEJ
Summary: Rachel visits her dads in Lima for the holidays, gets pulled over, her ex from NYC stalks her, threatening her life and the cop who pulled her over helps protect her... For fic table prompt #47-Protection.  Story: T/PG-13. Ch. 10-12: M/R for content.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Broken Road, Part 1/?

Fic Table prompt: 47 - Protection (table at my journal here: ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com/ 31402 . html ).)

Summary: Rachel visits her dads in Lima for the holidays, gets pulled over, her ex from NYC stalks her, threatening her life and the cop who pulled her over helps protect her... For fic table prompt #47 - Protection.

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey.

...

**Wednesday, November 16, 2016**

**Eight days before Thanksgiving**

Rachel packed her last bag into the taxi and walked back to her apartment one last time to make sure the door and deadbolt were secure before she returned to her taxi, "take me to the airport, please," she requested.

"Yes, ma'am," the cabbie said, pulling the cab from the curb and onto the streets of New York City.

She watched the Big Apple pass by, her emotions on both sides of the fence. She was super excited to be going home to Lima for almost two months to spend Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Years with her dads: she is on a break between shows; the production she had been working on 'off-Broadway' had ended in early-November and she didn't start rehearsals for her next role of Sophie in 'Mamma Mia!' until after the new year, so she was taking some time to rejuvenate at home.

On the other side, she was also sad because her boyfriend of eight months, now ex, was supposed to go with her for Thanksgiving, and return to NYC for the other holidays with his family, but just a week prior, she had gone to his office, where he works as an insurance agent and walked in on him and his secretary doing _it_ on his desk. Rachel dumped him on the spot and when she got back home, she tore up his ticket to Ohio, packed up anything of his in her small apartment and put them in a box and left them outside her door, so when he came over, he'd get the hint that she was serious, but to be sure, she left a note on the top that said, "we're over, asshole!"

For two days her cell phone beeped with text messages and voicemails, all from him, trying to say that he had nothing to do with what happened and it was all his secretary, but she ignored every call and message, getting disgusted with the numerous excuses he tried to use to say he didn't do anything, but now she realized that all his late nights 'working' were really an opportunity to sleep with his secretary and 'get some' because Rachel had not given herself to him, or anyone yet and was waiting for 'the one'.

Arriving at the airport, she put the past week behind her, checked her luggage in, and stood in the security line with the rest of the holiday travelers.

...

Six hours after Rachel left her NYC apartment, she pulled her rental car into the driveway of her dads' house. Their cars were gone and she knew she'd arrived when they were still at work. Making two trips into the house with her bags, she dropped them off in her bedroom and got a snack in the kitchen and also saw what they had that she could make for dinner.

It was about two in the afternoon on Wednesday and she knew her dads had to work; they wanted to do that, so they could take off the few days before Thanksgiving to spend with her and she assured them that was alright and it gave her an opportunity to go out to the store and get things for dinner.

After her snack, she realized that they didn't have a lot of food in the house, so she wrote down a list and made her way to the store.

The November day in Lima was clear with blue skies, instead of the usual rain and clouds and Rachel relaxed as she drove to the store.

Walking through the aisles of the Safeway, she picked up what she needed, paid for her items and headed out to her car. Seeing she still had plenty of time before her dads would be home, she took the long way back, taking an opportunity to see what had changed since she had been there last.

Relaxing to the light traffic and small sounds she heard as she drove, she was already beginning to forget the drama she had left in New York and hoped she'd be completely be over _him_ in just a few days, and she knew at the rate she was going, that was totally possible.

Her travels slowly brought her from one side of the town to the other and as she got closer to her dads', she was broken out of her thoughts when she heard a shrill wail of a siren behind her and looked to see a police SUV, so she turned her signal light on and pulled over to the right side of the road and gasped when it also came to a stop behind her. "Oh, you can't be serious!" She exclaimed to the empty car. Biting her lip, she tried to think of anything she had done wrong; she had stopped at all the stop signs, she didn't go through a red light, her cell phone was in her pocket so she hadn't been texting, she kept to the speed limits and remembered to signal every time she changed lanes or turned, so she knew there was no illegal reason for he to be pulled over, but she rolled her window down, turned the car off and reached for her paperwork, nervously waiting for the officer to approach her. She saw the man slowly slide out of the driver's side of the patrol SUV and walk towards her, his right hand resting on his gun, and she noticed the perfect fit of the uniform against his body and blushed at the thoughts she was having.

"Afternoon, ma'am," the officer greeted politely.

At his voice, Rachel's eyes widened and she turned to look at him straight on, "Noah?" She gasped.

"Well, hello Ms. Rachel Berry," Noah grinned.

Rachel's smile grew, but she also blushed a deep shade of read, "I can't believe this... You're a cop... And you pulled me over."

"Yep, I'm a cop," he smirked, "I've been one since I turned twenty-one and don't freak out. I only pulled you over because you have a break light out and you wouldn't know unless someone told you," he explained.

"What?" She exclaimed, "that rental company will be hearing from me!"

Noah smirked, "I'm sure they will. I'd love to be around for that; I've missed the Rachel Berry rants in my life," he winked.

Rachel blushed, "Noah..."

He shrugged, "hey, we just lost touch. I mean it's not like we stopped talking because we hated each other, right?"

"You do have a point," Rachel agreed, smiling at him, "I'm glad to see you're doing well."

"Thanks. I think I am. Still single and all that, but yeah, life is cool for me right now. How are you doing?" He asked, pulling out a notepad that he kept in his pocket along with a pen.

"I've been doing okay, but the last week has been rough. I... I'm sure you don't want to hear about my troubles right now," she said, trying to pass off the question.

He wrote his number down, "why not? We're still friends, aren't we? I know I still want to be."

She took his number and set it on the passenger seat by her purse, "thank you... I... I caught my boyfriend cheating on me with his secretary and obviously I broke up with him. I'm glad I'm done with him, but I'm just upset with how it happened," she explained.

"Whoa! What's his name and where does he live? Sounds like he needs a taste of the Guns of Puckerman," he commented, "no one cheats on Rachel Berry and gets away with it."

Rachel giggled lightly, "thank you, Noah, but you don't have to beat him up for me. I would not want you to get in trouble defending me."

"Hey, I have a badge now. I can do it legally," he winked at her and motioned to the paper he had given her, "call me and we'll hang out while you're home. I'll make you forget about the little cocksucker."

"I'd love that," she smiled, feeling so much better now that she was talking to him again; she even ignored his foul term and agreed she could use someone to take her mind off of him. "I look forward to spending time with you... How time has changed. Noah Puckerman is a cop, but you look amazing in that uniform," she commented, not bothering to hide how she felt about his look.

He smiled, "thanks, babe," he grinned, "you're lookin' pretty hot from this angle, too," he added, looking down between her 'assets' that were being revealed by a lower V-neck undershirt, showing a lot more skin than he was used to seeing of her.

"Noah!" She blushed, "I don't think my boy-"

"Ah, see! You need me to get your mind off of dick-face. We're going for drinks tonight; my treat," he said.

She nodded, "I'd like that, but how about some other time? I just got home a few hours ago. How about you come over for dinner tonight instead?" She offered, "I'm making chicken Parmesan and spaghetti."

"Sounds good to me! Same house?"

"Yes it is," she nodded, "as long as you're okay with seeing dad and daddy."

"It's cool. No complaints here. My shift is over at five-thirty, so I can be over by six," he said.

"Perfect," she smiled and picked up her phone, putting his phone number in and sent a message to him to give him her number, "I'll see you in a few hours."

"You will," he promised, nodding at her one last time and with a wave, he headed back to his patrol SUV with a smile on his face, "_oh how I've missed you, Rachel,_" he thought.

Rachel watched him slide into his car and pull away and she couldn't ease the bright smile and warm cheeks she had, "_I've missed you, Noah, and I think you're just what the doctor ordered._"

Focusing on getting back, she started her car and continued on, her mind full of thoughts. She was still shocked to find he was a cop, but was really glad he seemed to have grown up, yet some of his comments still reminded her of the seventeen-year-old Noah 'Puck' Puckerman at McKinley.

...

Returning to her dads' house, she put her groceries away and immediately called the rental car company and after being bounced between one representative to another, she finally talked to a supervisor, who was extremely apologetic for the inconvenience the situation had caused and noted on her account that a week would be taken off her total time the car was rented as compensation, along with paying whatever the cost was to fix it.

Content with what she had gotten accomplished, she moved onto making dinner and was getting into things when she heard the front door open and close, so she knew one of her dads was home.

"Smells amazing in here. My daughter must be home," Alan commented, entering the kitchen.

Rachel set the spoon down and moved towards him, "hey dad!" She grinned, giving him a hug, "you know you two should not eat take-out all the time; it's not healthy, so while I'm home, I'll make us dinner," she kissed his cheek, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too, sweetheart," he hugged her tightly, "and when we encouraged you to come home for some time off, we didn't mean you need to be our cook."

"I know, dad, but I want to. I'm used to cooking for myself and having healthy options around; I couldn't eat take-out every day," she reminded him, "dinner is at six-thirty and we have a guest," she said moving back to the stove.

Alan's eyes raised in curiosity, "we do? Who is it? I thought you and Daniel broke up and he wasn't coming home with you..."

"Please don't say his name," Rachel begged, "and no, it's not him. It's the officer who pulled me over today."

"What?" Alan exclaimed, "Rachel! Did you try and get out of a ticket by offering him dinner?"

"Dad! I did nothing of the sort!" She promised, "I was pulled over because one of the taillights on my rental car is out, so he was warning me to get it fixed. The officer was Noah Puckerman, you know, Noah from high school. He's a cop now. He didn't know it was me until after he pulled me over and we got talking and I invited him over for dinner. I hope that's alright."

"Oh! Of course it's alright," Alan nodded, "what a coincidence! I'm surprised I didn't know he was a cop, but he must not have had dealings with any of my legal clients," he explained, "I haven't heard you mention him; when was the last time you spoke with him?" He asked.

"Um, it's been a while. I'd say probably after my second year of college. He said he's been a cop since he was twenty-one and he's only two weeks older than I am. I didn't know he was a cop until today, so sometime around then; three years or more," she replied.

Alan nodded in understanding, "does he... well, have you mentioned..."

Rachel nodded, "yes, I did tell him briefly that I caught _him_, but did not go into details. In fact, that's how I invited him over for dinner. He offered to take me out for drinks tonight to talk, but since I had just gotten home, I figured I'd be tired early tonight and I wouldn't be good company for long, so I invited him over instead," she said. "And can you please stop bringing _him_ up?"

"Of course, sweetheart. I'm so sorry," he added, moving over to her and hugging her again. "No man should do that to the woman he claims to care about. I have half a mind to go beat him up for hurting my little girl," he commented.

Rachel giggled, "dad! Not you, too! Noah offered the same thing. I'm glad _he_ is out of my life. If he can't respect me enough to wait for me, then he wasn't worth keeping around."

"I don't disagree with you, but still; he hurt you and as your father, I should hurt him, but as a lawyer I won't," he commented with a sigh.

"Just knowing that you and daddy are supporting me is enough for me. I don't need you to fight my battles, too," Rachel told him.

"I know. So you're waiting until you get married to go all the way?" He asked curiously.

"I can't believe I'm having this talk with you," she blushed, "and no, but I don't want to give myself to just anyone. I thought he might be the one, but he wasn't. I'm glad I found out before I decided to give myself to him."

"Me too," Alan agreed.

"Me, three," David commented with a smile.

"Daddy!" Rachel grinned and dashed over to her other dad and wrapped her arms around him, "hi! How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know you're glad that '_he-who-must-not-be-named_' is out of your life and thankful you found him cheating before you gave yourself to him and you wanna save yourself for _the one_ and just not some guy, which is a very wonderful thing to do," he said kissing her cheek, "welcome home, sweetheart."

Rachel smiled, "thank you and it's really good to be home. That pretty much sums up our conversation, but you missed the part about me getting pulled over..." Rachel trailed off, going back to the stove to continue cooking while she explained her story of the past few hours to him.

David was just as welcoming as Alan was for their dinner guest and as both men went to change out of their work clothes, Rachel continued to bounce around the kitchen, setting the dinning room table for four and making sure things were cooking well; she wanted it to be a nice relaxing family dinner, and she hoped it would be.

...

Just after six, while her dads were sitting in the den reading over the daily newspaper and catching up on the mail, Rachel heard the doorbell ring, so she headed for the door, pausing by the mirror in the hall to fix her hair a little before moving to the door and pulling it open.

On the other side of the door, she saw the man she remembered from high school, jeans, t-shirt, skater shoes, sweatshirt jacket and short hair, just an inch or so long, but this time there was no mohawk. "Noah, welcome! Come in," she smiled, stepping aside to let him in.

"Thanks, Rachel!" He smiled and stepped inside, "how are you? Been pulled over by any cops lately?"

She blushed, closing the door behind him, "you know I was today and it was my first time _ever_ being pulled over."

He leaned forward to press a kiss to her cheek, "so I was your first, huh? Nice!" He grinned and held out his arms, "these are for you."

Rachel stared at the bouquet of a dozen pink carnations and smiled, "_Daniel never got me flowers; not even after a performance,_" she thought, taking them from him and smelling their scent, "they're lovely, Noah, thank you," she stepped forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"You're welcome," he paused, pulling out a package of lights from his pocket, "and to make sure you don't get pulled over again, before I leave I'll fix your light," he promised.

"Thank you," she smiled, "dad and daddy are in the den relaxing. Dinner isn't quite ready, so I'm going to put these in some water. You're welcome to hang your jacket up in the closet if you'd like," she offered as she moved back into the kitchen.

Noah took a moment to hang his sweatshirt jacket up in the closet and followed her steps into the kitchen, plopping down on one of the stools next to island, "need any help?"

"No, I'm good," Rachel replied, getting a vase from a cabinet and filling it with water, "so I gotta ask, how did you end up becoming a cop?"

He smirked and shrugged, "nothing really big on the story; I mean, you know how I wanted to high-tail it out of here once we graduated and Burt talked me into staying and continue working at the garage, right?"

"Yes, I do remember that," Rachel nodded.

"Well, I had driven past the police station and saw a sign that they were accepting applications for new recruits, so I went, got the information and found out to be sworn in you have to be twenty-one, but to apply you could be twenty... Anyway, I applied and they called me a few weeks later to come in for an interview and it all started from there," he shrugged, "I started training in like June and at the end of August I was sworn in, just like a week after I turned twenty-one. It was awesome. Mom was of course freaked out, but she's all happy that I turned my life around and am doing something productive and I still get to be a badass; now I get to be a badass with a badge," he grinned.

Rachel laughed lightly, "some things will never change."

"Oh, hello, Noah, we thought we heard you two talking," David said as he and Alan came into the kitchen from the den.

Noah stood up, "sirs, good to see you again."

"You, too, Noah, and please call us David and Alan; 'sir' is just too formal," Alan laughed.

"I look at it as a sign of respect, but I'll use your names," Noah commented, "and thank you for letting me come over for dinner."

"No problem at all. Happy to have you," David said. "It's not every day we actually have a home cooked meal and would love the company."

Rachel took the vase of flowers and set it on the dinning room table for a centerpiece and then returned to the kitchen as her daddy had said that, "that's only because you two never cook unless it's macaroni and cheese or TV dinners," she laughed, "you two cook like bachelors."

"Hey! What's wrong with that?" Noah asked with a grin, "I make a mean macaroni and cheese."

"Does it come from a box?" She asked.

"Of course, where else would it come from?" Noah asked walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her from behind as she stirred the sauce on the stove, "let me guess; you make it from scratch?"

"Though I don't eat a lot of pasta, yes I do make it from scratch," she said calmly, trying not to show how good she felt with his arms around her like that. "_This is a good and bad idea, Rachel. If he keeps this up and you don't stop him, you'll be falling in love with him and then you'll leave again, and then what?_" she thought. Stepping aside to reach for something, she felt him let go and sighed at the loss of contact, "_for the last eight months you never felt like this, Rachel. What gives? Noah makes you feel safe and warm; Daniel never did._"

"Rachel? Are you okay?" Noah asked, seeing her staring at the spaghetti sauce intently, completely out of it.

Snapping from her daze, she turned to him, "oh, yes, I'm fine," she said, "sorry, I just spaced out thinking about something."

He smirked, "I could tell. You've been trying to stir air for the past few minutes."

Rachel looked at what she had been doing and blushed, "whoops," she murmured and put the spoon into the pasta sauce to check it once more, "sauce is done, so once the pasta is finished we can eat," she said checking on the pasta.

"Noah, would you like something to drink?" David asked.

"Sure," he nodded.

"We don't have any hard alcohol, but we've got water, soda and some wine," Alan commented.

"Water. I don't drink when I'm driving," he explained.

"Oh, right, yes, that is true," Alan agreed handing him a bottle of water. "I should have known that.

"It's alright. I probably could have a few glasses of wine and be fine, but after having to arrest drunks behind the wheel, I decided to stop drinking if I'm driving," he explained.

"That's very admirable, Noah," Rachel smiled following them into the dinning room with some of the serving dishes.

"Thanks," he shrugged, "I guess I've grown up a lot since I became a cop."

"It's not so much the job, it's your age. You've grown up and realized some of the things you might have done when you were younger were not maybe the smartest or safest, and you've grown up and seen that," Alan told him.

"Learned from my mistakes, more like, but I get what you're saying," Noah grinned, taking a seat across from the two men.

Rachel brought in a few more trays and sat a bottle of water next to her plate, next to Noah, and with the final trip in, she took a seat, "okay, I think I have everything. Let's eat," she said with a smile.

Passing plates and dishes around, everyone took a serving and for a bit, the only thing that could be heard was silverware clicking against the plates.

"Rachel, this is amazing," Alan smiled.

Rachel blushed, "oh, it's nothing special. Chicken, pasta, sauce and some other ingredients," she shrugged.

"Sweetheart, it is special and you did a wonderful job. Thank you for only being home a few hours and doing this; it wasn't necessary," David replied.

"Babe, this is awesome. Thanks for the dinner invite. I might just make this a nightly plan if you're cooking," Noah commented with a grin.

"You're more than welcome to come over, Noah. In fact, I'd love if you did," Rachel smiled, "we can catch up."

"I'm in. I'm off everyday at five-thirty, so expect me by six, unless something comes up."

Getting back to dinner, they spoke about the holidays and Rachel asked what Noah was doing for Thanksgiving.

"Having dinner with my mom and sister. Thankfully I get it off this year; last year I had to work, so instead of me and my sister taking dinner to my mom, mom and Arin brought me dinner," he said.

"Noah, would you three like to join us? It's going to just be Rachel, Alan and I and we know your mom and sister from a few brief times we met and from Temple. We'd love to have you all over," David said.

Noah smiled, "thanks for the offer. I'm not sure, but I'll ask them."

"Awesome," Rachel smiled.

As they finished eating, Rachel's phone began to ring and she got up to see who it was. "Not a chance," she commented, hitting the ignore button and tossing the phone back into her bag which was on the island.

"Who is it, Rach?" Noah asked taking some of the dishes into the kitchen where she was and setting them by the sink.

"Daniel; my ex. I thought I was done hearing from him," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the island.

Noah walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, "you want me to take care of him?" He asked with a grin.

"Noah, I do not condone violence," she commented.

Her phone began to ring again, so she reached for it, and as expected it was Daniel, but before she could hit the ignore button, Noah pulled the phone from her hands and answered it, "hello? Who am I? It's none of your fucking business... She's right here; in fact, she just got through making an amazing dinner for her, her dads and I... You could say that..." Noah smirked, moving away from Rachel as she was trying to reach for the phone, "once you get a chance with Rachel Berry, you see that she is the best thing that ever happened you and hate to see her go. Oh that's right, you had a chance with her, but you decided to disrespect her by fucking your secretary, didn't you? ... I'm an asshole? Bullshit douche-bag! You're the fucking asshole! Rachel deserves better than a dick-face who cheats on her... Like me? Hell yeah! I'm a lot better man than you are! I may have made mistakes in my past, but I would _never_ cheat on her _and_ she knows that... No, you can't talk to her! So stop calling and let her move on, asshole," Noah snapped pulling the phone from his ear and ended the call, handing the phone back to her and taking a deep breath as he noticed David, Alan and Rachel were all staring at him, "sorry for the language."

Rachel wrapped her arms around him, holding him close for a long moment until she pulled away, tears in her eyes and smiled at him, "no one has ever stuck up for me like that before. Thank you!"

"You're welcome," he hugged her, "I've always got your back," he added, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

She nodded and relaxed in his arms for a long moment before looking at him, "um, did you... what you said about me being the best thing that ever happened..."

"I meant everything I said. You are the best thing that ever happened to me; when we were in high school and now. I know I've made mistakes in my life, but I'm a better person now and I would never cheat on you or disrespect you like he did and I'm not just saying that because you're dads are standing here."

Rachel nodded, "I know," she smiled.

Before Noah could respond to that; glad she got it, someone knocked on the front door.

"That's odd. Are you expecting anyone?" David asked.

No one knew who was there, but Alan moved to the front of the house, while Noah, Rachel and David stayed in the kitchen.

As soon as Alan opened the door, he wished he hadn't. On the other side was Daniel, "I don't think you should be here."

The six-foot tall twig with brown hair and green eyes glared at him, "I don't fucking care what you think! I'm here to see my girlfriend and I'm not leaving until I do!" He exclaimed.

...

A/N7: Thank you all so much for reading! This is a work-in-progress. I don't know how long it will be, but probably between 5 and 10 chapters. I hope you all enjoyed; please review to let me know. I'm an author of several other Puckleberry fics, listed on my LJ and FF accounts, so feel free to check them out, too!

...


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Broken Road, Part 2/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey.

...

A/N7: For those of you who read this when it was first posted and before 12/4/2010, when writing this fic, I originally had written that Daniel was supposed to come with Rachel to Lima for Thanksgiving and Hanukkah (because usually Hanukkah ends up being in early-December), but I didn't realize until looking it up that the year this fic is set in, 2016, Hanukkah starts at sundown on Christmas Eve. Finding this out, I went back and changed the 'Thanksgiving and Hanukkah' explanation to just 'Thanksgiving', so I just wanted to let you know, in case I mention just Thanksgiving in a later chapter and you wonder why.

...

Rachel gasped, hearing his raised voice and moved into the hall towards the door, but Noah stopped her, "let me take care of this," he said, walking ahead of her and slipped between Daniel and Alan, "how's it going, Daniel?"

"You good for nothing son of a bitch!" Daniel yelled, storming in and pulling his fist back, ready to take a swing at Noah.

"Daniel! No!" Rachel exclaimed.

He didn't listen to her and went to hit Noah in the face, but Noah was able to block him, grabbing his wrist and twisting his arm behind his back, grabbing his other hand to restrain him.

"Let go of me, you asshole, or I'll call the police!" Daniel exclaimed, fighting to get free of Noah's grasp.

"Look here douche-bag, I _am_ the police, so you're lucky I don't call them myself and have you arrested for attempted assault on an officer of the law and trespassing on private property," Noah retorted, "calm yourself down, respect the people you're around and Rachel might be willing to talk to you," he suggested.

Daniel continued to struggle against Noah's strength for a few moments, but when he realized he was in no position to fight, he gave up, "alright, fine," he snapped in frustration.

Noah smirked and let go of him, stepping towards Rachel, "you don't have to talk to him if you don't want to, but obviously he's here, so he must want to talk to you. I'm here if you need me," he reminded her, before moving aside.

Rachel nodded and moved towards Daniel, "I have nothing to say to you, so what seemed so important that you flew two hours and drove two hours to get to me for?" She asked calmly, fighting the urge to start crying.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out, "I... I screwed up. Alana offered and I accepted and I shouldn't have, but you weren't... You wanted to wait and I guess... I should have, but I couldn't resist her..."

"_Okay, so I know how that feels, but that was Puck in high school, not me now. I've seen the error in my ways,_" Noah thought, leaning against the wall nearby, Alan and David standing near him, while Rachel spoke to Daniel by the front door.

"That's really all you have to say?" Rachel asked in shock, "after everything you did to me, that's how you want to end things?"

"I don't want to end things. I came all the way here in hopes that we could start over," he replied.

Rachel shook her head, "no, not happening! You may be able to forget me walking into your office and seeing you fucking Alana on your desk, but I can't nor do I want to. And, I bet you also forgot Clarissa, didn't you?"

Daniel's mouth fell open, "my ex? Of course I have! She broke up with me months before we started dating!"

"Oh, I know that, but maybe you should have deleted her phone number. She called your phone one day and when I saw her name, I answered, planning to tell her you were taken, in case she wanted to get back together. She warned me and said the reason she broke up with you is because she caught you with Alana, too, so maybe you should try dating Alana; you seem to enjoy fucking her... Or are you just looking for a good body when you're not getting enough with your actual girlfriend?" Rachel snapped, "get out of my house, get out of my town; I never want to see you again!" She exclaimed, opening the door further and holding it for him, "GET OUT!"

"But Rachel, I..."

"Goodbye, Daniel," she motioned outside.

At his hesitation, Noah stepped forward, "I believe the lady asked you to leave, or do you need an escort? The three of us have no problem helping you find your way out," he commented, seeing David and Alan standing on either side of him.

Daniel looked at Rachel and sighed, stepping outside and headed towards his flashy red rental sports car and with one final glance back at the house, he got in and sped away.

Once Rachel was sure he was gone, she closed the door and leaned her forehead against it, taking a moment to relax, but the tears still came. As she turned around, she moved right into Noah's arms and began crying; she'd spent two days locked in her apartment, ignoring calls and messages from everyone when she first caught him, but forced herself to focus on going home to Lima to get away from him, so she hadn't had any more 'time' to really think about what had happened, but now, everything came back full force and being overwhelmed, she just broke down in front of the only three men she could trust.

Noah was shocked that Rachel had come to him, but he welcomed her and held her close, letting her cry, "hey, it's okay. You did great, Rach. You're going to be alright. Your dads and I are here for you, okay?"

Choking back a sob, she nodded, "I know, but I didn't want to come home and have to deal with him like this! My first night home is ruined because of him! I just wanted a few days to not have to think about him so I could get over what he did, and then he shows up and brings everything to the surface again! Why couldn't he have waited just a few days?"

"I don't know, sweetheart," David said, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder, "he probably thought if he caught you on a good day that you might rethink his offer of getting back together."

"That will _never_ happen," she replied.

David nodded, "I know that, but he probably thought you'd be gullible and willing to do anything with just a few sweet words from him and I'm glad you stood your ground; I'm proud of you."

"Me too," Alan agreed, "I know you know you did the right thing and I'm sure you're hurting right now, but Noah is right. We're here for you, no matter what. We don't want you to hurt because of him."

"I'm trying not to, but I can't help it. I feel horrible. I thought I could trust him!" She sobbed.

David pulled Rachel into his arms, "I know sweetheart, and I'm so sorry you had to go through that, but you're better off without him if he's going to do something like that to you," he murmured.

Rachel hugged her daddy and nodded, relaxing for a moment and slowly her sobs subsided and her cheeks got redder in embarrassment that she had broken down in front of them, "I'm sorry, I... I thought I had already gone through this when we first broke up," she explained.

"Don't apologize, Rach," Noah commented, "you have every right to be upset. You were caught off guard and all the emotions from the week came out."

She nodded, "I've never seen him so aggressive before; or even violent like that. I can't believe he was going to hit you," she told Noah.

Noah shrugged, "I'm used to it, so I was able to stop him, but it sounds to me like he's used to girls falling for whatever he says and doesn't like being told 'no'," he said, "that's just what I see," he added.

"I admit he doesn't like having plans change, but I don't know quite how true that is, but you could be right," Rachel rubbed her forehead, "this is not how I wanted to spend my first night home."

"Of course it isn't, but the night is still young. You two should go out and do something fun to get your mind off what happened," Alan suggested.

"Sure, I'm in, if you're up for it, but we don't have to," Noah commented.

"I'd love to; maybe tomorrow night? Right now I'd just love to take a long hot shower and go to sleep," she said sadly, "I'm sorry, Noah."

"Don't apologize," he walked over to her and hugged her. "It's was a big day and sounds like you'll be here a while, so we have plenty of time to hang out," he looked at her, "I can even hang here for a while if you want to take a shower and see how you feel and maybe we could sit and talk after, but if you still want to go to sleep, I'll stay until you fall asleep," he offered.

She smiled, "I'd like that. I'll... I'll go shower then," she motioned towards the stairs.

"Don't hurry, take your time," Noah told her.

Nodding at them, Rachel climbed the stairs and left the three men standing by the front door. When they heard her door shut, they moved back into the kitchen, "I'm really glad you were here tonight, Noah," David said and Alan nodded in agreement.

"Me too," Noah nodded, "and not just because of what happened," he admitted, motioning to the front door, "I missed her. The last few years of not talking to her really sucked, so to see her is amazing and I do wish it had been under happier circumstances, but I'm glad I was able to be here to, um, protect her. I didn't want to step on your toes, but when she told me what happened and then him calling and showing up here really pissed me off and I admit, I hope him seeing me here and acting the way I did, he got a little jealous as some punishment for what he did; even though he deserves a whole lot more," Noah explained.

"Oh yes he does," Alan agreed. "Why did you two stop talking anyway?"

Noah shrugged, "honestly, I don't know. We were both working and she was going to school in New York and eventually our emails just got few and far between until they stopped completely. There's been so many times I've driven past here thinking I should stop, just to ask you guys if she was okay, but I didn't know how you felt about me or if you had moved, so I never did, but I know now that I should have."

"Noah, it happens. I lost touch with many of my close friends from high school once we went off to college; sure we tried to keep in touch, but our lives were different," David told him, "so you don't have to worry about that, it's understandable, but we just were making sure it wasn't from something bad."

"It wasn't," Noah promised them, "I wish we hadn't lost touch, but we can make up for lost time now," he sighed, blushing lightly, "she was the first person to ever really see me as Noah and not the tough Puck that everyone else knew."

"What's that saying? '_There's no time like the present_'? Or something like that?" Alan smiled.

"Yeah, you're right," Noah smiled moving into the dinning room to help collect dishes from dinner.

"Noah, you don't have to do that. You're a guest here," David said, taking the dishes from him, "have a seat, relax."

"Come on, guys, I can't just sit and watch you guys do all the work. I'll help," Noah insisted.

The three men busied themselves in the kitchen, cleaning up the dinning room table and counters, waiting for Rachel to return.

Noah wasn't quite sure what all this was getting at, but for the moment, he was glad that Rachel was back in his life and that he could help her through an obviously bad break-up. His thoughts were interrupted as she entered the kitchen in a pair of red yoga pants and a matching t-shirt, "hey, how was your shower?"

She smiled, "relaxing. I really needed that," she admitted, "I'm glad you stayed." She was a lot more relaxed than she had been when she had gone upstairs; she wasn't quite sure if it was because she was home in Lima or if it had anything to do with Noah being there, but for the time being she wouldn't think about it.

"You wanna talk?" Noah asked.

Rachel nodded, "yes, I'd love to. I want to know what it's been like to be a cop. Isn't it scary?"

"It can be," he agreed as they moved into the living room to sit down on the couch. "It's scary when you have to pull someone over in the middle of the night and you don't know if they're going to pull a gun on you, or when you report to a domestic disturbance and find a drunk dad beating up his wife and their kids saw everything, or when you go to a known crack house and see kids my sisters age so drugged up they don't know their own name, or help with traffic when a bunch of teens are in a car accident because the driver, who is also a teen, is drunk. It sure has opened my eyes to how stupid I was in school and like we kind of talked about at diner; it has made me a better person because of what I've seen."

"Wow! I never thought much about the police profession. I mean, I don't drink and drive and I don't do illegal things so the only time I see them is when they're directing traffic or helping security at theater," she admitted.

Noah smirked, "I figured that. So what do you do in New York?"

"Well, I just got through playing Cinderella in a updated version of the classic and in January, I begin rehearsals for playing Sophie in 'Mamma Mia!'. It's not on Broadway, though it used to be, but I'm super excited because the woman that will be playing my mom is Idina Menzel! She's a legend to me! I'm hoping with this show and being able to work with Idina that it's the break I need to get to Broadway," she explained happily.

"Congratulations! I remember you talking about Idina when we were in high school; she's one of your idols, so that's awesome that you'll be able to work with her. You'll make it to Broadway; you've got the talent."

"Thank you," Rachel smiled and looked at him, "do you like your job?"

"Sometimes. I mean, I like helping people. I see my hometown from a different point of view now and it's not always good, but in the general idea, yeah, I like my job. What about you? Theater everything you thought it would be?"

"Yes, but it does have it's drawbacks," she admitted with a sigh, "long hours and limited time off. I know when we were in high school I was always going on about practicing more, but now... Now I wish that I didn't have to work as much."

"Really?" He smirked, "you? Rachel Berry? Work less? I find that hard to believe."

Rachel reached over to nudge him playfully in the shoulders, "Noah!"

"What?" He laughed, "come on, I'm just teasing you."

"I know," she blushed, "and I'm trying not to encourage it."

Noah rolled his eyes and smirked, "fine," he sighed dramatically, "and if I'm being _nice_, I better suggest we go fix your car light before I have to pull you over again and arrest you," he winked at her, "then again... never mind," he shook his head and continued to smirk.

"I don't even want to know," Rachel shook her head as she stood up, "let me get a jacket and I'll go out with you."

"Okay," Noah nodded and got up, getting his jacket from the closet while she went to her room to get one from her luggage and soon the two were outside, Noah at the back of her car, while she stood near him.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Rachel asked nervously, "I mean, I can just take it to Burt's in the morning and have him do it. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Noah rolled his eyes, "and he'll do exactly the same thing I'm doing," he replied, popping off a small cover in the trunk, revealing the lights and switched them out easily, "I've done this tons of times," he assured her, "now test it out before I put the cover back on," he motioned to the driver's seat.

Rachel slid into the seat and tapped on the breaks a few times and once Noah was satisfied they worked, he put the cover back on and closed the trunk moments later, "see, all done."

"Thank you, Noah," Rachel smiled locking the doors and headed towards the porch.

Noah followed her and as they got on the porch, he put his hands on his hips, "what? That's all I get?"

Narrowing her eyes in confusion for a moment, she moved towards him, stood up on her tip toes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, "thank you, Noah."

He smirked, "that's more like it," he hugged her, guiding her into the warmth of the house, "we could continue that," he winked.

Rachel gasped and bit her lip, "Noah, I... I'm not ready for that just yet," she told him truthfully, "I like you, but I... I just broke up with _him_ and with what happened tonight and how wonderful it's felt to have you here... I don't want you to think that I'm... I don't want you to be a rebound. If we decide to try a relationship, I don't want it to be because I'm upset over what happened," she said softly.

He could tell she was nervous to say that, but he expected it and agreed with her. Resting his hands on her shoulders he squeezed them gently, "relax, Rachel, it's okay. I'll be here when you're ready and before then, too. If you don't want me to hug or kiss you, tell me and I won't," he explained, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable or think I'm pushing you, because I'm not."

"No, you don't have to stop, in fact, I enjoy your arms around me. I feel safe in them," she admitted with a smile, "it's just... this past week and everything... Just give me some time, okay?"

"Got it," he kissed her cheek, "and with that, I should go. It's almost nine and I have to be up at five."

Rachel pouted lightly, "you do? But we were having fun."

"I know we were, but I work seven to five-thirty Monday to Friday, so I can come over after. And if you need anything, at anytime, call me. If I don't answer right away, just leave a message and as soon as I can, I'll call you," he promised her.

"Okay, thank you, Noah, for everything. I'm so glad we're talking again," she told him, stepping forward to hug him

"Me too," he agreed, kissing her forehead as they hugged, "I've missed you," he whispered.

"You've are something I've been missing, too," she replied. "You should probably say 'bye' to dad and daddy," she added.

"I will," he kissed her forehead.

Pulling apart Noah moved towards the den where he knew her dads were and waved at them, "goodnight guys. It was great seeing you again."

"Oh, you're leaving? Alright, Noah, take care and you're welcome anytime; with or without Rachel around," David said.

"Thanks. I will keep that in mind. I'm sure I'll be back tomorrow night, too," Noah added.

David and Alan got up and shook hands with Noah, "goodnight, Noah. Take care and be careful out there. Hard telling what you'll come up on in your patrols," Alan commented.

Noah nodded, "I will. Thanks. Trust me I'm careful. Dude, today I had to pull over someone and you know what? She offered me dinner! It was a warning stop, anyway, but she probably would have still to try to get out of a ticket, if I tried to give her one," he winked at Rachel.

"Noah Aaron! I did nothing like that," Rachel blushed nudging him in the shoulder.

"Oh, and she complimented me in my uniform," Noah threw his arm around her shoulders, "you know I am just teasing you. I know you'd never do either of those to get out of a ticket," he told her truthfully.

Alan and David laughed and waved as the kids walked out of the den, bantering back and forth and the fathers were glad to see Rachel happy after what had happened that evening.

...

Rachel and Noah walked back to the front of the house and he opened the front door, "I'll talk to you soon," he promised.

"You better," she warned him, "and you're coming over for dinner tomorrow night, right?"

"Sure, if I'm invited," he replied with a smile.

"Of course you are, I thought we covered that at dinner," she noted.

He laughed, and gave her a hug, "you did, but it doesn't hurt to hear it again. I'll see you tomorrow, Rach," he told her, stepping onto the porch.

Rachel followed him and before he could get too far away, she grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her, wrapping her arms around his neck and crushing her lips to his in a deep kiss. The need to kiss him had grown quickly in her as the night wore on, especially with his light kisses and her kiss on his lips moments earlier; she couldn't wait any longer to really kiss him again; it'd been way too long to remember their teenage selves doing the same thing.

Shocked at her sudden movements, but totally willing, Noah wrapped one of his arms around her waist while the other wrapped around her shoulders, letting the years of being apart melt away from the heat of the kiss they were creating inside and out.

Breaking their kiss to catch their breath moments later, Rachel rested her head on his chest, "I've missed you," she whispered.

Noah groaned lightly and nodded, "the feeling is mutual, babe," he assured her, holding her against him, "you're making it really hard to leave."

She felt his body's reaction to her and she nodded, "I'm sorry I'm not ready," she bit her lip.

"Hey," he brushed his hand against her cheek so she would look up at him and as she did, he kissed her lips gently, "you do not need to apologize for anything. I'll be here when you are," he added, smiling at her.

"Are you sure? I'm... I'm so confused right now," she sighed, feeling tears in her eyes.

Standing on the porch, just outside the open door of her house, he kissed her once more, "I'm sure, Rach. You want to wait? Okay, we'll wait... You're not ready for a relationship? I get it... I'm here when you are ready, okay?"

Smiling, she nodded, surprised, but so thankful that he was understanding, "okay. Thank you for understanding all this, Noah."

"You're welcome. I'm not Puck anymore. I don't sleep around, I don't date girls just to have sex with them; that's gone. I'm single and if you want me to be your guy, then I'll wait until you're ready for it to happen and maybe one night I'll bring home my handcuffs," he winked.

She laughed lightly and blushed, "maybe you should," she agreed, "and I know you're just trying to make me laugh and it worked, but still thank you."

He shrugged, hugging her tightly once more before letting her go as he kissed her lips, "welcome. See you tomorrow, Rach," he said, knowing if he didn't leave now, driving home would be awfully uncomfortable.

Rachel let him go and shivered lightly in the cool night air, "I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe if you're able, we could meet somewhere for lunch," she suggested.

"Sure," he shrugged, "it'll have to be with my partner though."

"Your partner?"

"My partner... as in fellow officer who works with me," he laughed lightly, "he's dying to meet the girl I pulled over today. I wouldn't tell him who you were. We usually don't do traffic stops, but it was our day to be on patrol. When one of us approaches a car, the other hangs back unless we need help, that's why you didn't see him."

"You have a... I didn't..." She blushed, ducking her head, "I didn't know."

"I know, and I didn't bring it up, because it's not a big deal. He's a rookie and I've been working with him about a year, but I've known him a lot longer. If you wanna meet for lunch I can call you when we take our break, usually about noon, and you can meet us somewhere," he suggested.

Rachel nodded, "alright, take care and see you then."

Noah nodded, "go inside before you freeze, but the view is amazing, babe," he grinned as he walked out to his car.

Looking down at her chest, she saw what he meant and tugged her jacket together to cover her, "Noah!"

He laughed and waved as he unlocked his car doors, "now I got something to think about tonight," he added as his final words, before sliding in and starting the engine. Glancing up on the porch, he watched her go inside and as the door closed, he pulled away from the curb and headed to his apartment with a smile on his face, "_damn, that was the best night I've had in a long time!_"

...

Rachel closed the door and leaned against it with a smile on her face, "_even with my ex showing up, Noah made tonight so much better! I can't wait to get closer to him. I've missed him so much!_"

"Shall we begin looking at invitation patterns?" David asked curiously, grinning as he and Alan stood nearby.

"Daddy!" Rachel jumped as she heard his voice and saw both of their grins, "did you... how much did you hear?"

"Well, considering the door was open and you were letting all the cold air in, I went to check on what you were doing and found you in a pretty intense kiss with Noah. So pretty much everything," David replied.

Her eyes widened and she leaned her head against the door, "I'm... It's..."

"Sweetheart, you're an adult and while it still is sometimes hard to admit that our little girl has grown up, you are free to see and date whomever you like and while you don't need our permission, we'd give our blessing if you chose to date Noah," Alan said walking towards her.

"Thank you," she smiled, giving each a hug and a kiss, "and with that, I think I'm going to turn in for the night. Goodnight. I love you both," she said.

The two men said 'goodnight', and she climbed the stairs with a dreamy smile on her face, feeling like a teenager with the happy emotions she had building up, but she didn't mind. She knew these were good feelings and that her time in Lima would be amazing.

...

A/N8: Here's chapter 2; hope you all enjoyed! Review and let me know what you think. We haven't seen the last of Daniel; he's really gonna cause some problems for our two favorite Gleeks.

A/N9: Since this is 1 of 4 WIPs I have going right now, I'm going to do my best to update as soon as I can. I decided between this one and 'Returning Home' whichever one got more response I would update first and it's tied with reviews and faves, but this one has two more alerts, so this one gets updated first, then 'Returning Home' will be updated, not counting 'Out of the Blue' and 'Starlight' which are also going to get updates soon, too.

...


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Broken Road, Part 3/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey.

...

A/N7: Noah's partner and his partner's wife will be introduced in this chapter, but you won't learn their names until the end; it's a surprise.

...

**Thursday - One Week To Thanksgiving**

Waking up to her phone ringing at two in the morning, Rachel grabbed it from her nightstand and tried to focus on the letters, but she was still half asleep, so she just gave in and answered it, "hello?"

"Can we please talk?" Daniel begged.

At his voice, Rachel woke completely and sat up, sighing, "I don't want to talk. Leave me alone."

"Rachel, give me a chance to make it up to you. Come outside. I'm in front of your house."

"You're what?" Rachel gasped, "it's the middle of the night, Daniel! You couldn't wait to harass me in the morning?" She hissed, "leave! Get out of here! I don't want to see you, I don't want to talk to you. You cheated on me; we're done and over with, _for good_. Get away from my house and out of my town. Go back to New York and find someone else!"

He laughed lightly, "no one says 'no' to me. You're going to regret ever saying that, Rachel," he said, his tires squealing as he pulled away from the curb.

Rachel's eyes widened, "so now you're threatening me? Do you really think that will work? Threaten me until I do what you want? Forget it! That will never happen."

"Just wait, Rachel. _Never_ say never," he said simply; quickly ending the call.

"Rachel? What's going on?" Alan asked from her doorway.

"I, um," she stared at her phone, "my phone was ringing, but I couldn't focus on the name, so I just answered it. It was Daniel. He wanted me to come outside to talk to him. He wants me to give him a chance to make it up to me, you know, for cheating on me. I told him 'no'... He... he threatened me," she explained shakily.

"He what?" Alan gasped, moving into the room and looking outside to see the street void of all cars except their neighbor's.

"He left when he realized I wasn't coming outside, but he told me that 'no one says 'no' to him' and I'll regret saying we're over. When I told him that would never happen; I'll never give into him, he told me 'just wait, Rachel. _Never_ say never' and then hung up," she shuddered and felt tears welling up in his eyes.

Alan sat down on her bed and pulled her against him, "hey, sweetie, it's going to be alright. First thing in the morning we're going down to the courthouse and you're going to get a restraining order against him. That way, he can't come near you without getting in trouble."

"Somehow I don't think that will work and you have to work tomorrow," she murmured.

"You're more important, Rachel. Work can wait," he told her, kissing her forehead.

"Okay, thanks... I... I need to call Noah. He's going to want to know," she admitted softly, wiping her eyes.

"If you'd like to, but you could wait until morning," he suggested.

"Noah works at seven-am and I was going to meet him for lunch tomorrow afternoon and he's gonna want to know before I meet him," she replied.

Alan agreed that she should let Noah know, but he didn't think she should call in the middle of the night, but Rachel was adamant, so he kissed her 'goodnight' and as soon as he was out the door and had closed it, Rachel called Noah, hoping he'd answer. Between the third and fourth ring, she heard a faint, "Puckerman," answer the phone and it took her a second to realize he'd picked up. "Noah?"

Hearing her voice, Noah woke up a little more, "Rachel? What's wrong?" He asked concerned when he saw what time it was.

"I'm so sorry to wake you up, but, um, Daniel just called... He was outside the house," she said softly.

"He was what?" Noah exclaimed, jumping up and already heading for clothes to put on. "What did he want?"

"To talk to me... He wants a chance to make up for cheating on me and I told him 'no' and then he threatened me."

"Threatened you? What did he say?" He asked quickly, grabbing a duffel bag to throw some clothes in.

Explaining what she'd just told Alan minutes earlier, she could hear shuffling around on the other end of the phone, "what are you doing, Noah?"

"I'm packing to come over for a few days," he said.

"Noah, you don't have to do that," she told him.

"Have to? No, you're right, I don't. I want to. I don't trust him and I'm not going to let him hurt you and in the morning you're going to get a restraining order against him."

"Dad heard me talking to him and he is taking the day off and we're going to do that exact thing," she replied.

"Good. I'm still staying over there for a few days or until we can be sure he's gone. I'm also going to have someone from the station come over to take your statement," he told her.

"Noah, that's not necessary. Can't this wait until morning? Why can't you do it?" She asked with a sigh, now wondering if her dad had been right when he was hinting that she wait until morning.

"Rachel, this is necessary. You need to file a report about this. He followed you from New York. He knows where your dads live. He showed up once, you told him to leave and he hesitated and now he shows up again. You tell him to leave and then he threatens you... He's stalking you and he's escalating. He was willing to fight me and he didn't even know me and was pissed because I was standing up to him. What could he do to you if you keep turning him down and pushing him away? I really don't want to find out, babe," he admitted, "I'm sorry to be so blunt," he added, realizing this was probably the first time she'd thought about that.

Biting her lip, she nodded, "I'll... I'll let dad and daddy know and get into something a little more presentable," she murmured, "I guess you're right. I never thought of it that way. He... He really surprised me tonight when he went to hit you, and then showing up here in the middle of the night and calling... Now that you mention it, I am scared he's going to come back."

"Which is why I'm coming over," he said, "so I can be there if he does."

"Thanks," she choked out as tears began to fall, the shock finally wearing off and her feelings of being scared and worried coming to the surface.

"Hey, Rachel, it's okay, we're gonna take care of this," he told her.

"I know," she sobbed, "but what if... what if he tries to hurt me?"

"Rach, your dads and I are going to do anything we can to protect you," he assured her, hoping it wouldn't get that far.

She took a few deep breaths and nodded, "thanks. I know you guys will, but it's nice to hear," she admitted softly, "I'm sorry for bringing you into this."

"Don't apologize. I'm glad I'm involved and the reason why I want someone else to take your statement is because I was a witness to this evening," he explained.

"Oh, yes, right, you were," she agreed.

"I'm gonna finish getting ready and come over. The cops will be over, but they won't come in until I get there," he said.

"Okay," she said softly. "We'll be up. Um, after they leave, are you planning on going to sleep for a few hours?" She asked.

"Sure. I can roll out of bed at six and still get to work on time," he smiled.

Rachel smiled lightly, "good. Um, so I'll see you in a little bit?"

"Yeah, less than thirty," he promised.

Ending the call, Rachel got up and went to tell her dads what Noah was going to do and the two men, though surprised it was happening now, agreed that it would be a good idea to have an official statement taken by a police officer for the restraining order, so the three Berrys got up and changed clothes, waiting for the arrival of Noah and the officers.

...

Noah finished packing for a few days, and after collecting two uniforms and the things he'd need for work, he called the station and talked to the third shift commander (1) and the officer agreed a report was necessary and would send two officers to meet him at the Berry's.

Just under thirty minutes after he hung up with Rachel, Noah pulled up to her house, and a white police car arrived just after him. He saw the two officers get out and motion to him, so he slid out and once his eyes focused, he recognized them, "hey Ashley, hey Monica," he said greeting the two women he knew worked nights.

"Hey Puckerman," Monica waved at him.

Noah grabbed his things, locked his car up and met them on the sidewalk, "thanks for coming," he told them, leading them up to the house.

"You're welcome," Ashley replied, "boss told us what you told him. We're happy to come."

He nodded and knocked lightly on the door, glad they two woman were there. He knew Rachel would feel more comfortable with women, given the situation; Officer Monica Lucas had only been in the department a year longer than Noah, and her partner, Sergeant Ashley Meyers, is a highly decorated officer and has been one for years, so both were very good at their job and Noah trusted them.

After a few moments, David pulled the door open, "hey Noah," he said half asleep, "ladies. Please come in," he motioned inside as he stepped away from the door.

Noah motioned for the girls to go in first and once they were all inside, he walked towards the living room, dropping his bags by the couch and before he could move, Rachel's arms were wrapped around him. He hugged her tightly, "hey, Rach," he murmured, kissing her cheek and forehead. "I'd like to introduce you to Officer Monica Lucas and Sergeant Ashley Meyers," he said, "ladies, this is my girlfriend Rachel and her dads Alan and David Berry."

After the introductions concluded, they briefly chatted, but got to the point of why they were all there. Rachel explained how she met and dated Daniel in New York and that he never showed any signs of being violent and then mentioned her plan to come back to Lima for the holidays, and how he would be there for a short time and then return to NYC, but just a week or so prior, she said she found him cheating on her and returned to Lima alone and had only just gotten back that afternoon when he showed up that night wanting to talk.

They mostly talked to Rachel, her dads and Noah adding in details she had left out and the two women wrote notes and honestly listened to what Rachel had to say. When they found out that he tried to hit Noah, they were really shocked and agreed that getting a restraining order against him would be the best next step because no one knew what he could try.

Getting the information they needed, they promised to file the report once they got back to the station and left just before four in the morning and Noah walked them out, thanking them for coming over.

Once they were gone, Rachel assured her dads she was fine, so they returned to bed for a few hours, leaving Noah and Rachel in the living room, "um, you want to get some sleep?" She asked, wiping her eyes.

"Yeah, a few more hours wouldn't hurt," he admitted, "show me to the guest room," he said lightly, knowing she was pretty drained from the last few hours.

Rachel grabbed one of his bags and he picked up the other and followed her up upstairs. She went into the first room they came to and set his bag on the floor, "um, Rach? This is your room. I recognize the walls," he commented, looking around and seeing the familiar colors and decorations from years prior.

"I trust you and feel safe with you. I need you close to me," she said softly, biting her lip, "I know I don't want to do _that_ right now, but I could really use the comfort," she paused, "please?"

"I'm not saying 'no'," he told her truthfully, wrapping his arms around her in a hug, "I'm just surprised that you want me to be so close, um, given what's going on with..."

"You're not him," she replied.

"Damn right I'm not," he agreed, kissing her on the lips.

As they parted, she smiled and then moved towards her bed, toeing off her shoes and tugging her clothes off. Noah stripped down to his boxers and a t-shirt and helped her pull the blankets back and then they both slid under them, "you know how long I've wanted to get you in bed," he winked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

She giggled, a blush growing her cheeks, "Noah!" She nudged him playfully, "maybe one day you'll get your wish," she commented, "I know that you wanted to sleep with me in high school."

"Was I that obvious?" He asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"You were a teenage boy, and admitted you were a 'sex shark' so in a way, yes you were," she replied.

"Oh yeah, there's that," he laughed lightly, "come here."

Rachel slid closer to him and rested her head against his chest, already feeling like what they were doing was natural, even if she'd never been that close to another man before.

Noah wrapped his arms around her comfortably and settled his head on her pillows, "get some sleep, Rach," he told her, "I have to be up at six," he admitted.

She nodded and closed her eyes, already drifting of to sleep and he wasn't far behind her, after he reset her alarm.

...

Waking up to her alarm, Rachel stirred, "_I don't remember setting my alarm,_" she thought, opening her eyes and saw Noah reaching to turn it off. "Hey," she smiled.

"Hey, Rach," he kissed her forehead, "how'd you sleep?"

She let her eyes drift closed and then opened them again, "wonderful," she admitted.

"Good," he replied, "and I hate to get up, but I've gotta get ready for work," he told her.

"Okay," she nodded and shifted to let go of him, "you're welcome to use my shower. There are towels in there you can use," she explained.

"Thanks," he shifted from bed and tugged the blankets back to let her stay warm, "go back to sleep if you need to. I'm gonna shower real quick and get dressed and if I have time I'll grab something for breakfast."

"I usually get up at six or seven. I can make you some breakfast while you shower," she replied, sitting up a little.

"You don't have to, but I wouldn't complain if you did," he smirked, grabbing clean clothes.

Rachel watched him go into her bathroom and close the door, so she got up and slipped on some warm clothes and headed downstairs to find it cool and dark, since her dad's hadn't gotten up yet and she set to work making breakfast for all of them; scrambled eggs, toast, hash browns and turkey bacon.

"Smells good down here," David said, walking into the kitchen about six-thirty.

"Noah has to leave soon and you not long after, so I thought I'd make everyone breakfast, because I'm sure dad will be up soon, too," she explained.

David nodded and hugged her, kissing her forehead, "thank you, sweetheart. How are you doing?"

She took a deep breath, "I'm okay. Still a little shaken up, but I'm not going to let him ruin my time here," she promised him.

"Good," he hugged her again. "You can talk to me anytime you want. Even if it's the middle of the day, I don't care."

"I know," she smiled.

"Someone's been busy," Noah commented, coming into the kitchen in his uniform, a long sleeve dark blue shirt, with matching cargo pants and black combat boots.

Rachel nodded, "breakfast for you guys," she replied.

"Thanks Rach," Noah smiled, setting his jacket on the island, "got any way of making it to-go? I hate to eat and run, but I gotta get to work," he motioned to the clock and it was already twenty to seven.

"Oh yes," Rachel nodded moving to the cupboard and getting a plastic container, "I hope you're not late," she said filling it up with breakfast.

"I won't be, if I leave in the next few minutes," he assured her.

"Morning all," Alan greeted them, coming into the kitchen, "how did you two sleep?"

Rachel blushed, but handed Noah breakfast, "for two hours I slept great," she replied. "I take it you guys saw us in bed together?"

"No, but we heard you talking about it last night," David said, "and you're both adults. It's your decision."

"But it's your house," Noah replied.

"True, but you've known her a long time and though it's been a while since you saw each other, we trust you," Alan told them.

"Thanks. That means a lot to hear, and I really have to go," he wrapped his arms around Rachel and kissed her, "thanks for breakfast, babe."

"You're welcome," she smiled, hugging him tightly, "what time do you have lunch?" She asked.

"Noon, usually, for an hour," he said.

"Breadsticks?"

"Yeah. Let me know for sure, but sounds good to me," he replied, slipping on his jacket and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. "See you guys later."

Rachel followed him out and shared another kiss and hug with him before he left and as he disappeared down the street, she closed the door and went back into the kitchen with her dads. "I'm a hypocrite aren't I?" She asked softly.

"Why do you ask that?" Alan asked her.

"Because I wouldn't have sex with Daniel, but I'll sleep in the same bed as Noah," she replied.

"Rachel, like you said, you just slept in the same bed as Noah; you didn't do anything else. There was something either consciously or unconsciously that kept you from sharing that with Daniel, and while some may see that as being a hypocrite, we don't. We're glad you didn't sleep with Daniel and honestly, we trust Noah, _and_ it has nothing to do with the badge he wears," David explained. "What's important is how you feel about what you're doing. Do you feel like a hypocrite?"

"No. I feel safe with Noah. I didn't with Daniel," she explained. "In less than twenty-four hours, Noah has done several things that Daniel never did and it took me eight months and him cheating on me to see that Daniel was a horrible boyfriend, and while I've only just gotten back to Lima and met up with Noah after not speaking for a few years, I wouldn't change a thing about what we did. I really missed him."

"Then that's what is important. You feel safe with him and you have known him a long time," Alan told her. "You've only known Daniel about as long as you two dated, right?"

Rachel nodded, "yeah. Well, about a month longer," she replied.

"So it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Only what you do," David smiled.

"Thanks," she smiled at them, "I hope Noah and I continue to have more of a relationship."

...

"What smells like breakfast in here?" Noah's partner asked walking into the locker room.

"Breakfast," Noah replied sitting on a bench in front of his locker as he continued eating what Rachel had boxed up for him.

He looked over at what Noah was eating, "damn, did you stay at your mom's last night, because I know you never cook like that."

"Nah, my girl's place," he winked at him.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second. Your girl's place? The one from the traffic stop yesterday?"

"Yep," Noah finished the last bit and stood up to slide the empty box into his locker. "And she's a great cook. Dinner last night was awesome."

"No offense, but I used to be a bachelor, too. Of course what we cook sucks... You gonna marry her?" He asked with grin, stashing his gear into his locker.

"Marry?" Noah actually thought about that one, "I don't know. Maybe if I can get rid of the douche of an ex-boyfriend it'd be easier."

"What do you mean?"

Noah sighed, "she's from here, back visiting her parents for the holidays and her ex-boyfriend, who she caught cheating, showed up after dinner and was begging for her to take him back. She told him to leave, he tried to punch me and when he finally left, we kind of admitted something was between us and then we talked for a while and I went back to my place. Middle of the night she calls me up and tells me he had just called her and was outside her house and threatened her, so I got dressed, packed my stuff and went over there after I called the third shift commander (1) and he sent Ashley and Monica out to her place so she could give an official statement about his threats. I crashed there for a few hours and came here. Her and her dad are going to get a restraining order against him today," he explained.

"Whoa, shit. You think he's gonna do anything else?"

"I don't know. Right now I'm more concerned about her. She was fine about it until I started talking about him escalating from a nice guy to a violent guy and hard telling what he'll try."

"Dude, that's a lot of baggage to be carrying around. No offense, but are you sure you're up for that kind of shit?"

"It's not 'shit' and I won't turn my back on her. I knew her once. She and I were friends. Still are," he admitted.

"Oh, alright, well, if you need an extra set of hands, let me know. I'll help anyway I can."

"Well, for starters, we're probably having lunch with her at Breadsticks today," Noah commented.

"Today?"

"Yes, problem?"

"Not really, but I promised the wife we'd meet for lunch; she's off today."

"Invite her along," Noah grinned.

"Dude, we don't even know this chick."

Noah rolled his eyes, "come on, it's food. It gives you lunch with your wife and me lunch with her and you two can meet her."

His partner was about to say something, but the light bulb went on, "you have a point," he agreed.

"Of course I do," Noah grinned and patted his partner and friend on the shoulder and guided them out of the locker room, "that's why I'm the senior officer," he added.

"Okay, now you're playin' the seniority card; we're the same age," his partner laughed, nudging him playfully.

"...Ladies, let's compare nails later, SWAT has a real job to do," their boss commented with a laugh, motioning to the empty seats where they usually sat.

The two guys took their seats and got to work; though Noah never 'lied' to Rachel about his job, he didn't tell her the full story either, but she didn't ask. He's officially part of the SWAT and Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT), but when they're not doing one of those jobs, they patrol just like normal officers until a call comes in where their team is needed, which is why Noah brought up Daniel escalating; it wasn't the first time he'd seen a pissed off ex-boyfriend try to rough up his former girlfriend just to prove a point and the last thing he wanted was Rachel to be that ex-girlfriend.

...

"So are you going to tell me anything about her?"

"No, I'm not. Can't you wait like three hours?" Noah glanced at his watch and saw it was just after nine.

"Come on! What's the big secret? Is she blond? Brunette? A redhead? African-American? Latina?"

"Dude!" Noah laughed, pulling up along side their teammates SUV, "work now, talk chicks later."

...

A couple hours later, their job was done with SWAT and they were patrolling until lunch time, when Noah's phone rang. "Puckerman?" He answered his phone on his Bluetooth.

"Hey Noah. Are we still up for lunch at noon? I am if you are," Rachel said.

Noah smiled, "yeah, babe, I am. You okay?"

"Yes, but this isn't how I wanted to start my time here. Nothing ever goes as planned," she sighed.

"It's alright. Did you get it?" He asked.

"We did," she replied. "I'm still a little foggy on the details; dad could explain it to you more than I can right now, but yes, I have one against him," she replied.

"Good. That's a start. Now let's just hope the douche-bag goes back home with his tail between his legs and we'll be set."

"Yeah, until I have to go home and then what?"

Noah's stomach sunk a little, not realizing that detail, but when he did, he sighed, "I guess we'll have to figure out that as we go, but right now, let's just focus on today. For now, we're having lunch with my partner and his wife at Breadsticks at noon," he told her.

"You're right and yes, we are. I'll see you there."

...

Noah and his partner were the first to arrive and they took seats across from each other and when his partner's wife joined them a few minutes later, she took a seat next to her husband. "So we get to meet this new girl of yours?" She asked, looking at Noah.

"Yep," Noah nodded, kicking back in his seat.

"Speaking of girls, you'll never believe who just walked in here," his partner commented, looking towards the entrance.

His wife looked where he was looking and her eyes widened, "oh my God! Rachel Berry!" She exclaimed loud enough that it echoed over the restaurant and startled several patrons.

Rachel heard her name and looked to see Noah and two other familiar faces staring at her, so she walked towards them. Before the other two could greet Rachel, Noah stood up and pulled her into his arms, "hey babe," he kissed her gently and then draped his arm around her shoulders as he faced his partner and his wife, "Rach, I think you might remember Mercedes and Matt Rutherford," he motioned to them, a bright grin growing on his face.

...

1. ( www . limapolice . com/ )

...

A/N8: I gave PKteach the option of Finn or Matt to be Noah's partner and she chose Matt, which was who I was leaning towards, anyway, so it worked out... We haven't seen the last of Daniel and we'll have more Gleeks show up in the next chapter. Hope you all liked! Review and let me know!

A/N9: I've been off the past week and a half with a sprained ankle and I've been trying to write as much as I can, which is why I'm posting an update to all my WIPs today. I go back to work in a few days and want to give you guys something before I do.

A/N10: Though in my previous postings, I didn't mention this, but I'll mention it now. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

...


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Broken Road, Part 4/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey.

A/N7: I changed the note about grades from 'Puck and Rachel' to 'The Gleeks' to avoid confusion or extra explanations about differences in age, so everyone in this fic is about the same age.

...

A/N8: **(Please Read)** This fic, as a whole, goes up to 1x22 ~ Journey in the show, but one relationship that I have included in this didn't begin until 2x01 ~ Auditions, so just be warned; there are enough spoilers and comments out there about the couple, so though they have been dating since the first episode of season 2, not everyone has been able to see the show. That is the only season 2 topic that I'm using in this fic.

...

"Oh my God!" Mercedes exclaimed, pulling Rachel into a tight hug.

"Mercedes! It's so good to see you!" Rachel replied, just as excited to see her and as they pulled away, she hugged Matt, "you too, Matt," she added and then looked between him and Noah and realized they wore the same uniforms, "you're Noah's partner?" She asked.

"Guilty," Matt grinned as they took their seats again, "and now I know why he wouldn't tell me his new girl's name."

Rachel blushed, "he wouldn't tell me his partner's name either," she replied.

"Surprise," Noah smirked, draping his arm over her shoulders.

"A huge surprise," Rachel admitted, "you guys are married! Congratulations!" She exclaimed.

Mercedes and Matt smiled happily at each other, "thanks," Mercedes said, "we've been married about a year and a half," she added.

"Wow," Rachel then turned to Noah and Matt, "and you guys are cops! Seeing Noah as one is shocking, but both of you... It's big."

"And scary," Mercedes added, "whoever created SWAT, the movie, sure got it right."

"What?" Rachel gasped, looking at them and then to Mercedes.

"He didn't tell you?" Mercedes glared at Noah, "don't you think that's a big deal?"

Rachel looked at him, "I thought you said you were a police officer," she said.

"We are," Noah replied, "and you didn't ask for specifics. I told you we usually didn't do traffic stops because we don't," he motioned between him and Matt, "we're on the SWAT and Hostage Response Team, but when we're not on assignment for that, we patrol like regular cops," he explained, "does that bother you?" He asked, now concerned it did.

She shook her head, "no, it doesn't bother me, but it is a just a shock. Being any sort of law enforcement officer is dangerous, but I'm sure you both are careful, right?"

"Of course we are," he told her honestly.

"Good," she smiled at him, "I'm your girl?"

"Yeah, you are," he nodded, leaning forward and kissing her lips, "even if you-know-who thinks otherwise," he added.

Rachel blushed at his choice of words, but accepted the kiss, returning it gently before they pulled apart.

...

As lunch continued, they chatted about everything that has happened since graduating from McKinley in 2011. Mercedes went to school in Lima and got her teaching degree from OSU, and was currently working as a substitute teacher in the Lima School District, since there were not any open teaching positions available in the area. Just a month after graduating from OSU, she and Matt, who had been dating since they graduated from McKinley, finally got married, right before Matt started training to join Noah on SWAT.

They got on the topic of Rachel's life after McKinley and she explained her four years of school and then her job as Cinderella and how in January she would begin working as 'Sophie' in an off-Broadway production of 'Mamma Mia!' playing opposite of Idina Menzel, as Sophie's mom. "Actually, my ex encouraged me to audition," Rachel admitted lightly.

Noah stiffened a little at that comment and it brought out an entire explanation of the events of the past few weeks that brought them to an early morning visit by the police and how Noah ended up crashing at her place for a few hours that morning and would continue until things with Daniel were taken care of. Rachel told Noah that she and her dad had gotten the restraining order, and since they didn't know where he was staying, it would take some time, but the court promised they would serve him the papers by the following day.

Matt shared Noah's anger about the Daniel situation and agreed to be Noah's backup if it was needed for anything or if Rachel needed help and Noah wasn't around, and though she was nervous, Rachel thanked him for the offer, hoping it wouldn't get that far.

The guys' lunch hour ticked by too fast for the former classmates and soon they needed to get back to work. Rachel and Mercedes exchanged phone numbers and promised to hang out while they were there and since both had nothing planned for the rest of the afternoon, Mercedes suggested they 'hit up the mall'.

Rachel agreed and once their meal had been paid for, the two girls walked the guys out to their patrol unit and after hugs and kisses, the guys reluctantly returned to work.

...

Rachel followed Mercedes to the mall and as they parked, the two walked into the entrance and started shopping, they immediately were laughing, carrying on and talking just like they were teenagers again, "so, you're a teacher. I never thought I'd see you staying here. I thought you'd be coming to New York," Rachel admitted as they sat down in the food court with drinks to let their plastic cool off from the shopping spree they had been on.

"Well, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do," she admitted, "dad suggested I go into dentistry, like him, but I didn't want to do that and since I wasn't really sure, I just went to Lima's OSU campus to stay close to Matt, since he was working with his dad in construction. About a year into it, I realized I wanted to teach, so I declared my major. I only graduated a year and a half ago, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to teach in a middle school or a high school, so I decided to be a substitute. It worked out because there aren't any open teaching positions anyway, so at least now I can see what I like and still get paid."

"How does a substitute find out about a job offer?" Rachel asked.

"When a teacher is sick, they call a number to let the school know that they're not coming in and then the computer system calls a sub. I usually get calls at like four or five in the morning asking me if I want to work and if I respond yes, then they give me the information and I go to that school that day," she explained, "but sometimes, it's set up ahead of time. I just finished working for a teacher at Lima Middle who was pregnant, started the year and had her baby like two weeks later and took two months off for maternity leave. She requested me, and I couldn't turn down two solid months of work, so I went for it."

Rachel smiled, "that's awesome, but doesn't it get tough when you don't have work? I mean, you only get paid for the days you work, right?"

Mercedes nodded, "yeah, it has it's draw backs, but there are always subs needed. Especially around this time of year when the holidays are close; teachers taking time off for vacations and also because it's cold and flu season."

"That makes sense," Rachel admitted, pulling her phone from her bag when she heard it beep from a text message and when she opened up the message from a blocked number, her eyes widened when she saw a picture of her and Mercedes with the words '_catching up with old friends, Rachel?_' at the bottom. She gasped and looked around in a panic.

"What? What's wrong?" Mercedes asked quickly.

Rachel turned her phone around to show Mercedes and bit her lip, "I think it's Daniel," she replied, but as she looked around she didn't see him or anyone else she knew.

"Didn't you say you got a restraining order against him?" Mercedes asked, glancing around.

"Yes, but they have to find out where he is staying. The only address I have for him is the one in New York," she said locking the message so it wouldn't get deleted accidentally.

Mercedes nodded and was already calling Matt and when he answered she started talking, "get to the mall food court, now. No, this is not a personal call; Rachel just got a picture message from someone and it's a picture of us here and it's asking if she's enjoying catching up with an old friend," she hung up the phone after nodding a few times to something Matt told her, "he and Noah are on their way," she said.

"You didn't have to call them," Rachel commented softly, running her hands over her face.

"Rachel, he's here, which means he's following you. That's stalking, which is illegal and you have a restraining order against him now; he can't be contacting you. You have to report it," Mercedes told her.

"Yeah, but the order makes him keep his distance, but I can't control the threats or messages he sends," Rachel took a breath and sighed, "and I can't let him scare me and call Noah or Matt every time he does something; they do have a job to do. I don't want them to get in trouble."

"Rachel, it's their job is to protect people: friends, family members or strangers," Mercedes added.

Rachel sighed, but did agree that Mercedes was right about the message and she waved at Noah and Matt when they arrived, also joined by a mall security guard.

Though embarrassed, Rachel showed the men the text message and Noah began searching the mall crowd nearby for the familiar face, but he was now where in sight. Matt filled out a statement from her and though the guys didn't want to leave, they did have to get back to work. Noah tried to give Rachel a bottle of pepper spray, but she already had one, since Alan had insisted they stop that morning and get some on their way back from getting the restraining order.

Concerned that he was still around, everyone thought it was best that they leave, so the guys walked the girls to their cars, and once they were on their way, the guys went back to work, while Mercedes followed Rachel home, staying there for a bit to talk to her dad about what happened that day.

To get Rachel's mind on something else, Mercedes invited Rachel and Noah over to her and Matt's house, explaining that usually she and Matt, or some of the other Gleeks still in town invite the other Gleeks over to their place once a week for a get together and it was her and Matt's turn to host that week.

Rachel gladly accepted the invitation, excited to see some of their other friends from McKinley and knew it would be a good way of getting her mind off her current situation.

Content that Rachel was safe at home with her dad, Mercedes left after a while, so Rachel took the time to go up to her bedroom, take a shower and then started dinner, trying not to worry about all the 'what ifs' running around her head.

...

When Noah made it to the Berry's house after work, he changed out of his uniform and sat down in the kitchen while Rachel continued to work on dinner.

"I hope you really are okay with my job," Noah commented softly, "I know I should have told you right away, but it's not a big deal."

Rachel turned to him, "Noah, it's alright. Your job happened way before now. I'm not upset, but it still is a shock. Like I said at lunch, as long as you're safe, then I'm okay," she told him.

"We are safe," he assured her, "I just don't want you mad at me for not telling you."

She laughed lightly, "I'm not mad. I never asked; I just assumed. Um, can I ask you something?"

He smirked, "you just did, but sure."

"What are we? I mean... Where is this going?" She motioned between them.

Noah got up and moved towards her, contemplating her question, as he leaned against the counter near her, "I don't know. What do you want us to be?"

She bit her lip and looked at him, "a couple. With all that's going on, it's a lot, but I'd really like us to be a couple soon," she told him honestly, not bothering to hide her feelings.

"Then when you're ready, we will be," he replied, resting a hand against her cheek, and then brushed it through her damp hair, "because I'd like that, too," he agreed.

Leaning into his touch, she stepped closer, looking at him, "but what about when I have to go back to New York?"

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. I have some vacation time saved up and I've never been to NYC before," he added with a grin.

Rachel smiled and hugged him, "I'd love to show you around."

He kissed her gently, "it's a date then."

The two stood together in their hug for a long moment, content with their discussion; nothing was 'official' yet, but now they knew they wanted to be together and he'd let Rachel make the next move, because he'll be ready when she is.

...

As Friday morning rolled around, Rachel woke snuggled against Noah's warm body. She smiled, not wanting to move, but knew he'd have to get up soon to get ready for work, so she glanced up and began to study is silent features, enjoying the feelings she was having.

"It's not nice to stare," Noah murmured through closed eyes.

She blushed, "I didn't know you were awake," she admitted.

He opened his eyes to look at her, "I just woke up. I usually end up waking up before my alarm," he explained, letting his eyes drift closed again, relaxing for a few more moments until the annoying beeping began, breaking the content thoughts they were having and replacing them with the world outside the warmth of bed.

...

Once Rachel got Noah and her dads a healthy breakfast and shooed them out of the house, promising she would be fine and would keep the door locked just to be on the safe side, she relaxed at home, watching TV and messing around on her laptop.

As afternoon arrived, Rachel took a shower and got ready for her and Noah to go to Mercedes and Matt's house and made dinner for her dads, since she and Noah would eat when they got to their friends' house. When the three men arrived home, Noah changed out of his uniform and into something comfortable and then he and Rachel piled into his SUV and drove over to the Rutherford's, being the first to arrive.

"So who else is coming?" Rachel asked, realizing that she had not talked to Mercedes about who the other Gleeks were that would be coming over.

Mercedes handed her a few bowls of chips to set on the dinning room table, "Finn, Quinn, Mike and Tina," she replied.

"Really? Quinn?" Rachel was surprised to hear that, "once the baby was born, she kind of went back to her old ways."

"She did, but I put her in her place a few times, remember?"

Rachel thought back to their Senior year and nodded, "yeah, I do remember that a few times," she admitted, "I know her and Finn got together over the summer, so did they stay together?"

Mercedes nodded, "yeah they did. They're married now," she replied.

"No one saw that coming, did they?" Noah laughed as he and Matt joined them in the kitchen.

At Noah's comment, Rachel looked at him, "um, we haven't discussed... Are you still..."

He nodded, "as much as I wanted to keep Beth, we did the best thing for her and Shelby seemed like a good person. Finn got over what Quinn and I did and the three of us are cool now; you should know that; it hasn't changed since we last talked," he admitted.

"Well, I didn't know if it had. I mean, people change over time, so I wasn't sure if you three were still okay with how things turned out," Rachel replied, "and I haven't spoken to anyone since graduation, except you and we still lost touch for a few years," she added.

Noah slipped his arms around her and kissed her, "I know, and I'm sorry we lost touch," he added. "And Finn and Quinn eloped about two years ago; they took a vacation around Valentine's Day, but wouldn't tell anyone where to and came back from Vegas married."

Rachel's eyes widened, "are you serious? They eloped? I would never have expected that."

"No one did," Mercedes replied, "and there were a lot of hurt feelings, but we got over it. Matt and I got married the summer after; about six months later," she explained.

"Wow," Rachel looked at them, "I'm happy for them, and you guys, but I just didn't expect that... And you said Mike and Tina, too, are they together?"

"They are," Matt nodded, "got together in college and are engaged."

Rachel sighed, "I know I wasn't the most liked person in the club and I don't blame you guys for not keeping in touch, but I've missed so much."

"It's no excuse, Rachel, and I feel bad we didn't keep in touch," Mercedes told her, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's alright," Rachel assured her, moving to give her a hug, "we're gonna keep in touch now, though, right?" She asked with a grin.

Mercedes hugged her back, "we are. I just hope you don't forget us when you become famous."

"Famous? Not likely, but even if I did, I'd never forget you guys," she assured them.

Hearing a knock on the door, Matt went to get it and returned to the kitchen with Mike and Tina behind him, "come on it, guys. You get to meet Puck's girl."

"Puck has a girl? Where?" Tina gasped moving further into the house with a tray of food.

Rachel blushed as she leaned against Noah and when Tina walked into the kitchen, she froze, her eyes widening in shock as she saw Rachel and immediately set the tray of food down and rushed to her, "Rachel!" She gasped pulling her into a tight hug.

Mike and Tina both welcomed Rachel back and when Finn and Quinn arrived, the greeting was much the same, and after the guys piled food onto plates, they headed for the TV, where the four of them began playing XBox 360 while the girls sat around the dinning room table talking. Rachel found out that Quinn was working in real estate, Finn was working with his step-dad at his garage, Mike was a gym teacher at Lima Middle School and Tina was a writer for the Allen Herald, the county's newspaper. The three girls also told her about the other four former New Directions members; Artie was living in Columbus and was working on his Master's degree in business, Kurt was living in NYC and working in the fashion industry and Brittany and Santana were officially a couple, living in LA working in dance and after all that, Rachel told them what she had been up to, which prompted her to explain how she got pulled over by Noah and that they were seeing where their relationship would go, doing her best to leave the Daniel topic out of the conversation.

The guys got tired of their video games, so the moved all the plates and food to the kitchen counters and pulled out a few decks of cards and soon the eight of them were sitting around the dinning room table playing poker.

When Rachel folded on one of her hands, she heard her phone beep and pulled it out of her pocket and sighed, seeing a picture message from a blocked number again, so she opened it, seeing a picture of Matt and Mercedes' house. "Oh no," she gasped, reading the message with the picture, "_nice house your friends' have. Thanks for the restraining order, but it won't work. Have fun catching up with them all!_"

Seeing her reaction, Noah grabbed the phone from her and read the message and handed it to Matt, "he was here," he said calmly.

Matt sighed and handed Rachel's phone to Mercedes long enough so she could see the picture and message, "what are we going to do?" Matt asked.

"What's going on?" Finn asked, confused.

Rachel took her phone back and locked the message like the other one and slipped it into her pocket, looking at Noah, "I think we should tell them," she said.

Noah nodded, "yeah, but it's your story to tell."

Nodding, Rachel began to explain the important events that led up to that moment, causing everyone to be concerned about her safety and worried about what Daniel might do.

"Do you think he's still here?" Finn asked.

"No," Noah shook his head, "he's not. This is his way of trying to scare her," he added.

"How does he know where you are?" Tina asked.

"I don't know. I guess he's following us," she said, "I was home all day and I never got a message," she explained.

"I'm glad he didn't show up when you were alone and try something," Mercedes commented.

Rachel took a deep breath and nodded, "me too," she said softly, "I didn't really think about him doing anything, um, like getting physical, until Noah mentioned he didn't want to find out how bad it'd get," she replied.

Noah put his arm around her and rubbed her back, "you're gonna be fine. We're not gonna let anything happen to you," he assured her.

She smiled at him, leaning towards him and pressing a kiss to his lips, "thanks."

"No problem," he returned her smile and the two looked at their friends.

Their former classmates all had grins on their faces, none of them surprised to see Noah and Rachel together; their on-again, off-again relationship in high school and the friendship they formed told everyone that no matter how different those two were, or where they'd end up, some how they'd manage to get together.

...

Seeing that Rachel was getting a little upset about the conversation, Quinn changed the subject and soon the eight former classmates got back into play cards and enjoying the relaxing night in.

The guys seemed to be more into playing poker, so the girls started helping clean up the kitchen so Mercedes and Matt didn't have to do it in the morning, and by eleven, Finn and Quinn were the first to leave, followed shortly by Tina and Mike and after Noah helped Matt reorganize the living room, Rachel and Noah returned to the Berry's house before midnight.

Noah moved into the kitchen to get them each a bottle of water, while Rachel went upstairs to say 'goodnight' to her dads, knowing they'd be watching TV. As he was moving up the stairs, Rachel met him in the middle, standing a step above him, "where are you going?" She asked curiously, resting her hands on his shoulders to stop him.

He pointed towards her room, "I figured we'd go to bed; it's kind of late," he commented.

She slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him, "we're not seventeen anymore, we don't have a bedtime," she whispered before kissing him again, "unless you have to go to bed," she added, liking that standing a step above him, brought her up to his height.

He smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist and even with the cold water bottles in his hands, he carefully stepped downstairs backwards and carried her into the living room, set her down and then set the bottles on the table, "I don't need to go to bed right now," he told her, pulling her close to him as he laid on the couch, letting her body cover his.

"Good," she murmured, settling on her side between him and the back of the couch, her lips finding his once more.

Noah shifted and wrapped his arms around her protectively as they kissed, his mind racing at the feelings he was having, "I like this."

"I've wanted to do this all night," she admitted with a blush.

"You don't have to be embarrassed to say that," he told her, shifting so he could prop his head up on a pillow on the couch and let her rest against his chest.

Rachel took a deep breath and relaxed, "I know and thank you, but I'm just so confused right now," she said softly.

He looked at her, "confused about what?"

"Us, this, me, relationships... As I said the other night, I don't want you to be 'the rebound', but being near you makes me feel so good, you're making me forget everything bad and I am just happy when I'm with you, but in the back of my mind I keep thinking that less than two weeks ago I just broke up with someone I was with for eight months and I should be sad and I'm obviously not; I'm scared with what he's doing, but sad is not an emotion I'm feeling right now," she blushed, "it's almost like breaking up with him was supposed to happen because I was going to get with you all along," she told him.

"There's no rule book for relationships or life. There is no law saying you have to be upset or sad over a break-up for four months before you start dating again, or something like that. It's all how you feel and if you feel you're over him and you can move on, then it's okay to feel good with someone else and I'm glad I'm that someone else," he smiled at her, "and I won't let you use me as the rebound," he added with a wink.

She giggled and nodded, "thank you," she kissed his lips, "so, can we see what happens?" She asked hopeful.

"We can," he nodded, pressing a kiss to her lips.

Returning his kiss, she snuggled closer to him, "do you think we should go up to my room and get comfortable in bed?"

"We could," he agreed, "in case we fall asleep, or we could throw a blanket over us and stay right here if you'd rather not move," he suggested.

Rachel lifted her arm up and tugged at the afghan that her dads had draped over the back of the couch and after a few moments of fiddling with it, she had it covering them, "works for me."

"Me too," he kissed her and let his eyes drift closed, "night, Rach."

"Goodnight, Noah," she replied, smiling as she let her body relax into sleep.

...

A/N9: Hope you all enjoyed! Review and let me know!

A/N10: For those of you who have not read 'Out of the Blue', 'Starlight' or 'Leave Out All The Rest'... Back in August my mom was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Since then she had gone through weeks of chemo, external and internal radiation and initially they thought she'd need a hysterectomy, but just before Christmas we found out that she is cancer free and doesn't need a hysterectomy like they first thought, so things are going great! January is cervical cancer awareness month (the cervical cancer color is teal & white) and it's feels great to say she's cervical cancer free now! I wanted to share that good news with you all!

...


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Broken Road, Part 5/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

...

After just a couple hours asleep on the couch, Noah woke up with a stiff back and talked Rachel into going up to her room, to continue sleeping for a few more hours, and neither rolled out of bed until after eight.

Noah took the hallway shower, while Rachel used her's and soon the two were in the kitchen with her dads and they were all talking over breakfast.

"So do you two have any plans for today?" David asked.

Rachel looked at Noah, "we haven't really discussed it, but I'm up for a relaxing day, actually," she admitted.

"I need to head to my place and get some clean clothes and check my mail and stuff, but other than that I'm game for a day in," he agreed.

"Okay," she bit her lip and picked at her food nervously.

"What's wrong?" Alan asked curiously.

"Is it... Do you... Should I be going out?" She asked softly.

"Why shouldn't you?" David raised an eyebrow.

"Because of... you know..." She sighed sadly.

"You can't let him ruin your life, Rachel. You've got to live your life. You can't always fear him showing up and if he does try something, you'll be with Noah," David told her.

"Yeah, babe. Sure, you may not want to go out by yourself, but I'll be with you and it'll be at my place. We won't be gone long. If you get uncomfortable we can come back, okay?" Noah offered.

Rachel nodded, "alright. I do agree. I guess... His actions have scared me," she admitted.

Alan rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head, "it's scared us, too."

Noah promised her she'd be alright, so after breakfast and some time to help him gather up his dirty clothes, the two of them climbed into his SUV and drove over to his apartment across town.

"Still in the same place, I see," Rachel commented as she slid out and met him at the front of his SUV. She had been to his place several times before they lost contact; he'd live there since just after they graduated from McKinley.

"Yeah," Noah nodded and shouldered his bags, "it's a great location, the rent is perfect and the landlord is cool," he shrugged.

"It's nice to have your own place," she admitted, following him into a room full of mailboxes, "I've moved several times in New York. I don't have... Well, I do, but it's hard to save a whole bunch of stuff when you move like I have."

Noah slid his mailbox key into the slot and opened it to find it empty, "empty? That's odd," he closed and locked it and motioned back outside, "why did you move so much?" He wondered.

"Well, I was in the dorms for the first year at NYU and had a roommate. Then my second year I was on-campus in an apartment with three other girls I knew. We were there for two years and then my final year at school I found an off-campus apartment by myself, but after the lease was up I moved closer to the theater. Then I moved again when the lease was up from a one-bedroom to a two-bedroom," she explained, following him up the familiar stairs to his second floor apartment.

"Wow! You have moved a lot," he agreed as they reached his door and unconsciously tested the knob, surprised to find it unlocked, "I know I locked this," he said twisting it and pushing it open, but the door stopped after just a few inches; the chain inside holding it. That's when he heard the TV on, "shit! Who the hell is in my place?" He exclaimed.

Rachel gasped and slid closer behind him, grabbing onto his shirt in fear, "what if it's Daniel?" She whispered.

Quick footsteps echoed in his apartment, then the door shut and opened again, revealing a young girl, no more than seventeen or eighteen with hazel eyes and brunette hair, "sorry Noah! I forgot that I hooked the chain."

"Arin? What are you doing in my place on Saturday morning?" Noah sighed, relieved to see his sister there.

"Mom and I came over to visit, but you weren't here, so I'm watching TV and she's insisting on cleaning," Arin commented with a laugh as her brother walked inside and then she noticed the girl behind him, "oh, sorry! I, um, you have... Who's..." Arin's hands flew to her mouth when she saw Rachel, "Rachel!" She gasped and jumped at her, "hi! How are you? When did you get home? How come we haven't seen you for like ever? What have you been doing?"

Rachel relaxed as she hugged Arin and smiled, "hey Arin! Noah and I lost touch for a while, but met up the other day when I returned to Lima for the holiday season. I'm currently between musical productions."

"That is so awesome!" Arin grinned, "wow! You said holiday season, so you mean more than just Thanksgiving?"

"Yes, I do," Rachel nodded.

"Mom! Stop cleaning my place," Noah exclaimed, seeing her coming out of his room with a pile of dirty clothes and heading for the small washer and dryer area in the kitchen, "I can do my own laundry."

"Oh yes, I can see that," Deborah laughed, "you haven't done laundry in over a week, Noah and you haven't even checked your mail for at least three days," she said, motioning to the stack of envelopes and magazines on the table.

"I haven't been here," Noah admitted, dropping his bag and moving to look through his mail.

"You haven't? Where have you been?" She asked, and then turned a little and saw Rachel standing with Arin, "oh my!" She gasped, "is that you, Rachel?" She asked, staring at her.

Rachel blushed an nodded, "yes, it is and I apologize for Noah not being here, but he has been staying with my fathers and I... I've had an issue with an ex and he's been helping me out," she explained.

"An issue?" Deborah asked, "is everything alright?" She asked concerned, looking between Rachel and Noah.

"It is a bit of a long story that we'd love to tell you, maybe over lunch?" Rachel offered.

"That sounds great!" Arin said.

Deborah nodded, "yes, of course, that sounds lovely," she replied, watching Noah toss all his dirty laundry out of his bag, "Noah, what are you doing?"

"I'm dropping off my dirty laundry and getting clean stuff," he laughed, "that's why we came over in the first place," he added, picking up his empty bags and heading for his room to get clean clothes.

"How rude of me," Deborah moved over to Rachel and gave her a hug, "I apologize. As much as my son seems to know how to clean up, he tends to leave things forever, so I try and come over once and a while and help out," she commented, "but it's so wonderful to see you. How have you been doing? Where are you living? Where are you staying while you're home?" She asked.

Rachel smiled, "it's alright and it's nice to see you, too. I am staying with my dads at home and I've been doing okay. I'm between musicals right now. I'm living in New York City still," Rachel explained and then grinned and her comment about Noah, "he seems to be a typical bachelor," she admitted.

"I heard that," Noah called out from his bedroom.

"So true!" Arin agreed moving into the living room to turn off the TV, "he's such a bachelor it's not even funny."

Rachel giggled, "apparently his cooking is not the best either," she added.

Noah shook his head, "at least I know how to cook," he explained, coming out of his room with his bag full of clothes.

"How long are you staying there?" Deborah asked surprised.

"Um, until this ex-boyfriend thing is taken care of," he replied.

"Taken care of?" She looked at the two of them, "what's going on?"

"We'll tell you over lunch," Noah explained, "follow us back to her dads' place."

...

Deborah and Arin followed Rachel and Noah back to her dads' house and after greetings, since her dads had met Deborah and Arin long ago, Alan, David and Deborah sat in the living room while Arin, Noah and Rachel went into the kitchen to help make lunch.

"So Arin, what grade are you in?" Rachel asked.

"I'm a Junior," Arin replied.

Rachel nodded, "nice! That was a fun year. It was the year we joined Glee," she motioned to Noah.

"Yeah, and it's still going strong," Arin said.

"Really? Is Mr. Schuester still running it?" She asked, looking at Noah.

"Yes he is. We're almost ready to go to Sectionals," she replied.

"We? As in, you're in the club?" Rachel's eyes widened.

Noah smirked, "I know I had magical talents on the guitar, and I suppose you could say that those traits were also shared with my sister," he boasted.

Arin blushed and shrugged, "yeah."

"She's not just _in_ the club, she's the 'Rachel Berry' of the club, minus the attitude," Noah winked.

Rachel's eyes widened, for the moment ignoring the 'attitude' comment and focused on the other part, "you are? Arin, that's amazing!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her, "congratulations!"

"Thanks," Arin smiled, "would you... Would you like to come see us sometime?"

"I'd love to!" Rachel nodded.

"Awesome! I'll tell Mr. Schuester," she replied with a smile. "I'm sure he'd love to see you, too."

...

Lunch was successful; catching up and also explaining the 'ex-boyfriend' thing. Deborah and Arin were both worried about Rachel, but they all agreed that she shouldn't let that run her life and she still should enjoy her time there, but keep what he was doing in the back of her mind.

The two families had a blast talking and Deborah and Arin accepted the Berry's invitation for Thanksgiving dinner, so plans were set and once Rachel promised she'd see Deborah and Arin several times while she was home and exchanged numbers with Arin, the two left the house and Rachel's dads moved into the den, leaving Noah and Rachel in the living room.

"We should go out," Noah commented.

"Really? Where?" She asked him.

"Have you ever gone ice skating?" He asked.

Rachel grinned, "yes, I love ice skating."

"Then let's go tonight after dinner," he told her.

"That sounds wonderful! I didn't think you knew how to skate," she admitted.

"I learned when I was a kid," he replied.

She smiled, "nice. This will be fun!"

...

As planned, after dinner, Noah and Rachel dressed in warm clothes, said 'goodnight' to her dads and headed over to the Lima Ice Rink. Noah paid for their admission and skate rentals and after getting their skates, they locked their shoes into one of the lockers there, they headed out to the rink.

It wasn't busy, but there were people there, so as Noah stepped out on the ice and got his balance, he turned and held his hand out for Rachel, "you okay?"

Rachel took his offered hand and stepped onto the ice, slipping a little, but quickly got her balance, "yeah, I am. Thanks," she smiled and laced their fingers together, "thanks for suggesting this."

"You're welcome," he turned around so he was facing her, but was still skating, "I thought it'd be a fun thing to do, so we're not in the house for a while," he explained.

"It is," she agreed, "I guess with everything going on, I thought it was better to stay home," she murmured.

"Yeah," he slid behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her head, "I get what you mean, but you can't stay inside just in case he does something," he replied. "That's no way to live and besides, you're home and you don't have to work, so you need to have fun."

"Only if you're around, too," she replied, "because, um, I know you can't stay at our place forever and as much as I love you there, I know you'll go back to your place soon."

"Yeah, but you're welcome there, you know," he commented honestly.

She smiled, "I'd love to come over."

"Then there's nothing stopping you and if we're seeing where out relationship goes, it's only right if we go on a date that I take you home, walk you to the door, kiss you goodnight and call you in the morning, but I kind of like this way, too," he added, skating in front of her to face her and took her hands in his as he skated backwards.

Rachel's cheeks reddened as she squeezed his hands, "are we on a date?"

"I was thinking it was," he admitted, smiling at her.

She slid forward and slipped her arms around his waist, "me too," she replied with a smile, "_Daniel would never do this. I don't know the last time I had fun on a date,_" she admitted to herself.

"Let me guess," he started, gliding them to the center of the rink, "not something the ex would do?"

Rachel bit her lip and shook her head, "no, he wasn't much for this kind of fun. Taking in a show or going to dinner with live music, maybe walking around an art gallery, was fun to him, but this wasn't on his list of things that he enjoyed."

Noah leaned in and kissed her gently, "well, I'm not like that. I like having _real_ fun," he murmured against her lips.

"I know," she smiled brightly.

...

After some time skating around the rink, enjoying the company and having fun, Rachel and Noah returned their skates and left the rink, heading to a local diner for dessert. Sitting across from each other in the booth, the two continued talking and chatting, teasing and laughing at each other over stories of the time they had been out of contact.

"This was the best idea ever!" Rachel exclaimed, digging into her second piece of Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cream pie.

"What was?" Noah asked curiously, figuring he knew what she was talking about, but wasn't sure.

"Buying the whole pie instead of just a slice," Rachel motioned to the half gone pie, "we can take the rest back to the house and have some later. It's been so long since I've had pie like this."

Noah smirked, "really? There is such a thing as eating food in New York, right?"

She laughed, "Noah!" She nudged his plate with her fork, "of course there is, but when, um, he and I would go out, he'd want us to eat healthy and he told me I shouldn't eat this kind of stuff. I tried to eat healthy anyway, but," she paused and looked at him, "I never realized what he controlled of my life," she murmured, biting her lip.

He reached across the table and took her hand, "that's not unusual, but it's good that you're seeing it now," he said, letting go of her head to reach up to wipe a bit of whip cream from her cheek.

"Yeah," she blushed, grabbing his hand again, "thanks."

"Anytime, Rachel, I promise," he replied, squeezing her hand.

...

Walking up to the front of her dad's house after their 'date', Noah had his hand on her back and as she pulled her keys out to unlock the front door, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Rachel sunk into the kiss and wrapped her arms around him, surprised by the action, but gladly welcomed the kiss, "what was that for?" She asked softly.

He grinned, "it's what's done after a first date," he murmured against her lips.

She blushed, "yeah, I guess it is," she smiled, "I had blast tonight, Noah," she told him. "Would you like to come in?" She winked.

"I don't know, don't you think that's kind of fast?" He smirked.

Rachel giggled as she unlocked the door and pushed it open, "but you said that there isn't a dating rule book," she said stepping inside, "so who says it's too fast?"

"Smart thinking," he replied, following her in and unzipping his jacket, "I had fun tonight, and I'm glad you did, too," he added, kissing her before she shut the door.

"Me too," she agreed, locking the door and taking her jacket off. Moving into the kitchen, she put the rest of their pie into the fridge, "would you like anything to drink?"

"Nah, I'm good. Bed time?" He asked, seeing it was almost midnight.

"Yes, I think that's a good idea," she agreed.

The two climbed the stairs and went into her room, getting ready for bed and crawling in together, "you still okay with this? Because I don't mind sleeping in the other room."

"Yes, I still am okay with this," she smiled, "I like having you here."

"Okay," he kissed her as he wrapped his arms around her, "just checking. Night Rach."

"Good night, Noah," she replied, snuggling against him, telling herself that their sleeping arrangements were just temporary, but her heart didn't want them to be.

...

The morning started with Noah and Rachel feeling sore from ice skating the night before, using muscles in their body that weren't normally used and both agreed to spend the day kicked back on the couch watching movies. Most of Rachel's movie collection was in New York, so they were watching her dads', which consisted of action, drama and comedy, not just musicals, like most of Rachel's favorites were, but they both managed to find movies they'd be willing to watch.

Just after lunch, the two were in the living room watching their third movie selection, when they heard a knock on the door. Rachel got up to answer it, seeing a woman outside, holding a large bouquet of red roses. On the street was a business can for one of the local florists, so she pulled the door open, curious who was sending flowers. "Hello, can I help you?"

"I have a delivery for Rachel Berry? Are you Rachel?"

"Yes, I am," Rachel nodded and accepted bouquet the woman handed her, "um, thank you, do you have a receipt or something so I know where to send a 'thank you' note?" She asked politely, but she was on the verge of tears as she realized that Daniel was probably the one who sent them.

"Um," the woman looked at her paperwork and pulled off a copy of the order sheet, "this is the order. That's all we have," she explained, "but there is an address."

"Thank you," Rachel smiled, taking the paper.

The woman nodded and returned to her van, leaving the Berry's, so Rachel stepped back into the house, seeing her dads and Noah staring at her.

"Rachel?" Noah asked looking at the flowers, "who are those from?"

Rachel glanced at the order sheet the woman had given her and sighed, "Daniel," she murmured, looking at the flowers as tears came to his eyes, "and he gave them his New York address, so he either went home or is still here."

Noah reached for the card and pulled it from the envelope, reading the words out loud, "_come on, Rachel, quit playing hard to get. You know you want it and I'm willing to give it to you._"

She huffed in frustration and stomped into the kitchen, but Noah ran after her, "wait, Rachel!" He exclaimed, seeing her about to drop the whole vase into the trash.

"What? I don't want them!" She exclaimed.

"We should take a few pictures of them, the card and order sheet, for evidence. Sure we can say he sent you flowers, but without proof, our word doesn't mean much," Noah explained.

Rachel listened to what he said and when Alan agreed, she sighed and set the vase on the island, "fine. You guys do what you want. I'll be in the living room," she muttered, moving out of the kitchen and back to the couch and stared at the paused movie, trying to push her fears aside, "_he's just trying to scare you and though it's working, you can't let him ruin your life. You're over him and you're are moving on. He's not going to get what he wants,_" she thought, blinking back tears.

"Rachel?" David said from nearby, taking a seat near her on the couch, "talk to me, sweetheart," he begged.

Taking a deep breath she turned to look at him, then slid closer to him and threw her arms around him, "I know I can't let him run my life. We're over, but he's scaring me and it's so frustrating because I don't know what to do!" She exclaimed, beginning to cry against his shoulder.

David held her close and let her cry, "it's okay, sweetheart, you're alright. He probably went back to New York and since he's not here, this is a way for him to scare you," he said softly, knowing she'd want some answers.

"I hope he did go back. I don't want to see him again, but he can still do this," she motioned to the kitchen where Noah and Alan were taking pictures of the flowers he'd sent.

"Yes, he can, but as soon as the police can, they will arrest him," David promised, "he will get caught. He won't do this to you forever."

Rachel nodded and relaxed in her daddy's arms, "I just wish he'd leave me alone."

"I know you do. We all do, too. I wish you didn't have to deal with this at all," David murmured.

"Me, too," she agreed.

...

After the flowers were disposed of, Rachel and Noah continued to watch movies, but she was more quiet than normal. Noah figured it had to do with the flowers, so he didn't bring it up again, but when they sat back down on the couch after dinner, she was still just as quiet, so he knew he needed to talk to her, "are you doing okay?"

"Yes," she nodded, "well, no, I don't think so. I'm happy to be here, you know, home and with you and everything, but it's just so frustrating and scary. I don't know what he's going to do next."

Noah nodded and pulled her against him in a hug, "yes, that is understandable," he replied, rubbing her back gently, "I'm scared about what he's gonna do next, too," he admitted.

Rachel looked at him, "you are? You're scared?"

He nodded, "yeah, I am. I'm scared that I'm not going to be able to protect you. I've had cases like this with strangers, but to have someone I know be involved... It scares the crap out of me," he kissed her forehead.

"Don't be scared because of me. You don't have to be."

"I know I don't have to be, but I am, because I don't want to see you hurt. I want to be able to protect you," he brushed his hand across her cheek and smiled, "I like you, Rach. You don't deserve to be hurt like this."

Though she knew he'd say some of that, she still blushed and wrapped her arms around him, "I like you, too, Noah, and it really means a lot that you care," she told him honestly, "and I don't know what I'd do if you hadn't been here. Thank you," she smiled lightly, kissing his lips gently.

Noah returned the kiss and pulled her into his lap, "no thanks needed and I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, so you'll never have to find out," he promised.

...

After their talk, Rachel seemed to feel better and turned back into her usual self, and as Sunday night came to a close and the two were getting ready for bed, Rachel was changing in her room while Noah was in the bathroom. When he came out, he blushed and turned away when he saw her without a shirt on, "I'm so sorry, Rach, I thought you were done."

Rachel gasped and quickly pulled on her pajama shirt, "um, it's okay... I," she blushed, "I thought you would be longer in the bathroom."

"I'm sorry," he told her again, doing his best to not give her a compliment that had a sexual nature to it. "I should have let you know I was done in there."

"Don't worry about it," she told him, "I'm surprised this is the first time you've had a glimpse since you've been here and why are you so embarrassed to see me without a shirt on. I know you've seen girls naked before," she commented, looking at him with a grin on her face.

"I don't want things to get awkward between us," he admitted, sitting on the edge of her bed, "I mean... we're not even officially 'together' yet and I'm already sleeping in your bed, and yes I know there is a different situation and I'm glad to be here, but I just don't want you to think I'm expecting you to get naked in front of me or anything like that," he explained, "and I'm doing my best to hide just how much I like being this close to you," he added in a whisper.

Rachel took her shirt off and stood in the middle of the room, knowing he was looking at her, "I'm used to being naked in front of people because during costume changes I had to change around men and women. Granted, most of the guys near me were gay, but besides that," she stepped closer to him, "I trust you like I've never trusted another man before and it won't be awkward. I don't mind if you see me naked and I don't want you to hide how you feel about me and I hope you like what you see," she added with a smile.

Noah gasped and nodded, "love what I see," he admitted. Biting his lip, he got up and moved towards her, took her shirt and hinted that she should put it back on, "I'm honored that you trust me, Rachel, but still," he paused, "at least wait until we're official, but thanks for the preview," he winked, kissing her cheek.

Her cheeks flushed and she nodded, "I can't believe I just did that," she murmured. "I'm usually not that, um, forward..."

"It's me. I'm irresistible. Girls just take their tops off around me," he pulled back the covers and slid into bed, stretching out, "hey baby, wanna join me?" He winked.

Rachel moved around the bed and slid under the covers with him, giggling lightly, "you are irresistible," she agreed, "and also full of yourself," she teased.

"Hey, when you're good, you're good," he kissed her and pulled the blankets up over them.

"In all seriousness, though, I do trust you, Noah. I know you're not going to use me or take advantage of me," she looked at him.

"That's really good to hear, babe, and I promise you, your feelings about me will never change, because I'll never do anything to ruin your trust," he told her truthfully.

"Thank you," she kissed him, "goodnight."

"Night, Rach," he smiled and settled into bed with some wonderful new images to fill his dreams with.

...

A/N7: Wow! An update from me... I bet you guys thought I fell off the face of the Earth! LOL... Sorry about the lack of updates. It's been a rough couple of months. The ankle sprain I have... Well, it's in both ankles (one is from when I was 12) and my doctors told me there is nothing they can do for it. It's something that will continue to happen as long as I work in a job where I'm on my feet for long periods of time, so at the end of January, just after I posted updates to all my fic, I quit my job. Since then, I've been looking for a new job, with no luck, working on crafts (I'm turning my hobby into a business), and well, I've been having a rough time staying focused on any one thing, so it's taken me a lot longer than I wanted to update anything. I'm so sorry! I finally finished writing a chapter of each of my fics, so over the course of the next few weeks, I'll get a chance to edit them all, work on more of the fics and update.

A/N8: I'm not 100% sure, but I think this story will be over in 3-5 chapters. I planned for this one and 'Returning Home' to be less than 10 chapters, and it looks like they will be. I'm so glad to have you all as readers and again, I'm so sorry it has been so long for an update.

...


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Broken Road, Part 6/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

...

WARNING: Contains a character from the show that had a shocking storyline come up in '2x06 - Never Been Kissed'.

...

As the five-am alarm went off, Noah reluctantly reached out and hit the snooze button, not wanting to get up; content right where he was. He was laying on his stomach, an arm wrapped around one of Rachel's pillows and she was draped over him and a gentle kiss on his neck told him she was awake, too. "Sorry," he murmured.

"What for?" She asked curiously.

"You and your dads are off this week; you should be sleeping in; not waking up extra early while I'm getting ready for work," he said, turning his head to look at her.

"It's okay. We always seem to get up by six anyway," she replied, "besides, I can go back to bed after you leave, if I want," she added.

Noah shifted to wrap his arms around her, "you're on vacation, so you're free to do anything you want," he told her with a smile.

"True," she agreed.

The two laid in bed together for a little longer, but when the alarm went off again, Noah reluctantly got up and went to shower in her bathroom, while she moved down to the kitchen to make breakfast. By six, Rachel and Noah were sitting across from each other at the island, talking over coffee and breakfast.

"Do I have something on my face?" Noah asked, curious as to why she was staring at him.

She blushed, "no, you don't," she told him, "I was just thinking of what you looked like in high school, compared to now. I never... Well, I won't say 'never', but if you had told me in high school that you wanted to be a cop, I probably would have thought you were joking with me, but now; I can see it. You're made for the job," she admitted, reaching over to take his hand in hers.

"Thanks," he smiled, squeezing her hand gently, "that means a lot," he said truthfully.

"You're welcome," she replied.

"Are we interrupting something?" David asked as he and Alan joined them.

"No, you're not," Rachel said, getting up and moving to sit next to Noah, "I was just telling Noah that being a cop suits him," she explained.

"It does," Alan agreed and David nodded in response.

Noah smiled, "thanks. I love what I do."

"That's the most important. You should love your job," Rachel said leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.

"Yes, but it is nice to get approval from my friends and family," he added.

"That is true," Rachel nodded in agreement.

Noah smiled and noticed the time, "I hate to wake you all up and then leave, but I need to get to work," he commented.

"It's okay, Noah. We don't sleep in," David admitted, waving off his comment.

"We'll see you later, Noah," Alan added.

"Alright," Noah nodded and stood up, kissing Rachel, "thank you for breakfast. See ya."

"You're welcome," Rachel replied, standing up and following him to the door, "be safe, Noah. I'll see you tonight."

Noah smiled and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, "you will and I'll be safe," he promised, kissing her gently.

Rachel grinned as they pulled away and then wrapped her robe around her a little more as she watched him walk out to his SUV and drive off. Once he was gone, she closed the door and moved back into the kitchen, where her dads were both drinking coffee.

"So, do you plan to move back here or does he plan to move to New York?" David asked with a grin.

Alan smirked at Rachel's wide eyes, "daddy! We're not even dating yet!" She exclaimed, blushing deeply.

"You might as well be," Alan laughed lightly.

"Sweetheart, it may sound like we're teasing you, but in a way, it is a valid question," David admitted, "I mean, Noah has a really good job here, so would you be willing to move home and give up New York, or do you think he'd be able to find a job in New York with their police department? It's something you both will have to think about before you two attempt a relationship," he explained.

Rachel took a deep breath and nodded, sitting down next to Alan, "that's on my mind a lot. I really do care about Noah and would like to have a relationship with him, but I worry about that. I wouldn't mind coming back here, but I think I'll miss the city, but on the other hand, if Noah is on SWAT here, he'd be qualified for it in New York, I would think, but I don't know if he'd want to leave, since Matt is his partner and all of his family and friends are here."

Alan nodded, "what do you mean, you think you'd miss New York? You don't know?"

"My thoughts have changed a lot since I've been home," she admitted softly, "meeting up with Noah again and our friends from school, and then all this mess with Daniel; it makes me not want to go back. I know I can't 'run' from my problems, but I wouldn't be. I feel safe with you guys and Noah. I don't always feel safe in New York, well, at least now I don't," she said honestly.

"You know you're welcome to come home, sweetheart," Alan told her, "if it's what you want."

She blushed, "I know. Thank you. I'm not sure what I want right now, other than being with Noah. I have about several weeks left here, so we have time to figure out what to do."

"Yes you do," David agreed.

...

After Rachel got a chance to shower and her dads had eaten, they discussed the holiday meal and wrote a list of what they needed and the three Berrys went to the store to pick up the fixings for Thanksgiving dinner and while they were out, Arin called Rachel to let her know that Will had invited her to practice that afternoon, so Rachel promised she'd come.

When the family got home, sitting on the front step of their porch was another bouquet of flowers, slightly different from the day before, and upon further inspection, they realized they were from a different florist in town and as they had done the day before, she took pictures of the flowers and card and then threw them away.

Rachel called Noah to let him know and he was pissed that she'd gotten more flowers, but was also glad that flowers were the only things she'd gotten so far from Daniel. She also mentioned that she was going to McKinley that afternoon to see the Glee Club, so she knew that would keep her mind off her 'gifts'.

As it had been when she was there, Glee met a few days a week after school and when she arrived at McKinley, Rachel felt excited to be there. She wasn't quite sure what the feeling meant, but at the moment she was happy and couldn't wait to get inside.

Arin was waiting for Rachel outside the school, so as Rachel walked up from the parking lot, arms went around Rachel, "you're here!" Arin grinned, hugging her.

"I am. I wouldn't miss this for the world," Rachel admitted, returning her hug.

"Mr. Schuester is looking forward to seeing you," Arin added, "come on!" She grabbed her hand and led her towards the main doors of the school.

Rachel let Arin lead her, even though she knew the way, "I'm excited to be here," Rachel commented, looking around the hallways, seeing the familiar lockers, but the signs and posters were different; including one for the Glee Club, "wow!" Rachel paused to look at the sign, "there is a poster for Glee Club and it hasn't been torn down?" She asked in shock, seeing it advertising Sectionals in a few weeks.

"Things have changed a lot for the club since you and Noah left," Arin admitted. "I think, from what Noah said, the biggest change is that Ms. Sylvester isn't a coach here anymore for the Cheerios, so Principal Figgins was able to give the Glee Club a lot more money for funding," she explained as they continued on their way to the choir room.

"Yes, that is a huge change. We still managed, but it would have been nicer to have more money for costumes and transportation," Rachel admitted.

"...yeah, I know that, but I've got to get to basketball practice. I can't be on the team about being late, if the coach is late," a male voice said from around the corner.

Arin saw him, but Rachel was busy reading another sign, so as the man came around the corner, she gasped, "Rachel! Look out!"

Before Rachel figured out what Arin was talking about, she collided with a man just taller than her, and jumped back in shock, "oh my! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, "I wasn't even looking where I was going," she admitted, "I haven't been back here for years, so there is a lot to see."

"It's alright, honestly it was an accident," he replied, "I was busy on my phone, so I wasn't paying attention either and the school hasn't changed much since I was here as a student here, either," he added with a light laugh.

"Well, almost everything is the same, but a few things are different," Rachel explained.

The man looked between Rachel and Arin and then smirked, "did you go to school with Arin's brother?" He asked.

Rachel nodded, "yes, as a matter of fact, I did," she replied, looking at him and immediately her eyes widened in shock, "Karofsky!"

"Yeah, I thought I recognized you," he nodded, a deep blush growing on his cheeks, "I guess I kind of left you a lasting memory of your high school life. I'm really sorry about that. I've changed a lot," he promised.

She nodded and bit her lip, "even after Noah stopped throwing slushies, you and your friends still did and it made our lives hell," she admitted, then took a deep breath, "but it is in the past. If we weren't the way we were in high school, we wouldn't be where we are now," she told him.

"Yeah, that is true, but I am sorry about what I did. I was very confused in high school. I wish I had the guts, like Puck did, to break the stereotypical jock and be myself, but I was more concerned with my reputation," Dave explained, "I finally changed that college."

"And became a teacher and coach, I see," Rachel smiled.

"I did," he nodded, "I teach English and coach basketball here."

"What made you become yourself in college?" Rachel asked curiously.

"I finally admitted to myself, my family and my friends that I'm gay," he explained, looking at her.

She gasped, "oh wow! I... I had no idea," she admitted.

"That was the point," he replied, "I didn't want anyone to know, because I really didn't know myself."

Rachel nodded, "but you... So all the times you teased Kurt for being gay..."

"I was afraid if I didn't, my friends would think I was or find out and turn their backs on me," he told her, "I know I was a hypocrite, but when you're sixteen, confused and stubborn; it's what I did."

"I'm well aware of stubborn people, Noah being one of them, but he came around, and I'm glad you did, too," she smiled at him.

"Thanks," he glanced at his watch, "I need to get to practice, but it was really good seeing you, Rachel."

"You too, Dave," she agreed, "I'm here until after the new year, before I go back to New York, so maybe while I'm home, we could go out to dinner or drinks or something? Maybe see if Noah is up for a visit... Or does he know or have you talked to him?" She asked, wondering if it was a good idea to bring him up.

"That sounds great! He knows everything and I go out once and a while with him, Matt, Mike and Finn, and sometimes the girls come along, too," he replied.

"Great!" Rachel dug something out of her bag, "here, just give me a call when you want to go or I'll get your number from Noah," she handed him a business card with a picture of her and her name and number on it.

"Alright. I can do that," he nodded, "I'll see you later, Rachel. See you tomorrow, Arin."

"Okay, see ya!" Arin called out.

Rachel watched Dave walk down the hallway and as the two girls continued their trek to the choir room, Rachel paused and took a deep breath, "oh wow," she groaned, rubbing her forehead, "I'm so shocked. Did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That he was gay?"

"Yeah, he's out to everyone," she replied. "Are you okay?"

"I think so, but that is a big thing. I mean; he has changed so much, and part of me wants to just forgive and forget, but another part of me wants to go off on him for what he did," she said softly.

Arin nodded in understanding, "it's in the past though. You can't change what happened, so maybe if you got to know him, you'd see he's changed. I mean, Noah used to kind of bully you, too, and now look at you two," she added with a grin.

Rachel smiled at the thought, "yes, you're right, Arin. If Noah can change his ways and become a trusted friend and more, Dave could at least be a friend," she agreed, "thanks," she hugged Arin briefly, "that's great advice."

"You're welcome," Arin smiled and motioned down the hall, "come on. It's time for Glee."

...

Will was very excited to have Rachel there and while some of the club members didn't care who she was, most of them were excited to have a former and original New Directions member there; especially one who had pursued musical theater after leaving McKinley. Rachel told them a bit of her experience thus far and then watched them do their songs for Sectionals and she was very proud to see that Arin shared the lead on both of their songs for competition and did an amazing job.

"You guys did amazing!" Rachel exclaimed, looking at the students as she clapped at the end of the final song. "Arin, you were wonderful!"

"Thanks," Arin grinned.

"Since you all did awesome, let's call it a day. With the holiday in a few days, I'm sure you guys have a lot to do for your classes, so we'll start fresh on Monday," Will said, clapping his hands together. No one complained about the early release from Glee, so as the students filed out of the class room, Arin hung back with Rachel and Will. Once everyone else was gone, Will turned to Rachel, "it's really good to see you again, Rachel. How are you doing?" He asked, "you look... you look like something's wrong," he admitted.

Rachel took a deep breath and sighed, "I've recently broken up with my boyfriend and he followed me here; stalking me," she explained, knowing she could trust her former teacher, "so it's been rough, but I'm really happy to be home."

"Oh, Rachel, I'm so sorry," Will said honestly, "has he tried to hurt you?"

"No," Rachel shook her head, "nothing like that, yet at least. I did have to get a restraining order against him and Noah is staying with me and my dads for a few weeks in case he does try something."

Will smiled, "Noah is a good man," he agreed, "so I'm glad he's on your side."

"Me too and thanks. I know that, but it's nice to hear from others," Rachel replied.

"You're welcome. How long are you here for?" Will asked.

"Just after the new year I need to be back in New York," Rachel explained, "so I'm here for a while, but I'm looking at options to come back home," she admitted.

"You are?" Both Arin and Will exclaimed at the same time.

"Please don't say anything to anyone," she begged, looking at both of them and once they assured her they would keep quiet, she continued, "Noah and I are looking at pursuing a relationship and I want to be closer to him. I'm not sure what the future holds, but an option is returning to Lima, and since I do have a teaching degree and can legally teach choir in schools in New York, all I would need to do is take a test and have my degree checked out to see what I qualify for and then I could find a job close by to get back here," she explained. "Everything is up in the air, but it's a thought; in fact, my dads and I were just speaking about it today."

"Wow, that's a big change, but understandable," Will said honestly, tugging a blank piece of paper from his folder, "if you need anything, feel free to let me know. I'll help as much as I can."

"Thank you, Mr. Schuester," she smiled.

"Please, call me Will," he replied.

"Okay, Will," Rachel nodded at him and accepted the paper he handed to her with his e-mail and cell phone number on it.

"I hope this visit isn't going to be the only one while you're here," Will said, changing the subject slightly.

Rachel shook her head, "no, it won't be. If you're inviting."

"Of course I am. I'd love to have you around and for some of the students who have only just joined, it may be nice to have someone who has gone through all this to tell them it's alright," Will explained.

"I'd love to come by. Same days and times as when I was here?" She asked him.

"Yes it is," Will nodded.

"Great!" Rachel stood up from her stool, "I should really get going. I left my dads with dinner duty, but I'm worried they won't quite remember all the directions," she giggled, "between them and Noah, if he beats me back to the house, I'm worried what the kitchen will look like."

Will laughed and nodded, "alright. Have a good holiday and I'll see you soon."

"Same to you and you will see me," she replied, then turned to Arin, "do you need a ride home or do you have a car?" She asked curiously.

"Actually, if you don't mind dropping me off, that'd be great. Mom has my car, because her's is at Burt's getting some minor repairs done," Arin explained.

"Of course. That's no trouble," Rachel assured her.

Waving to Will and leaving the choir room, the two girls walked out towards Rachel's rental car, "thanks for coming today, Rachel," Arin said.

"You're welcome. I enjoyed it. It did feel different to be on the other side of the performance, though," Rachel told her, unlocking the doors and sliding in.

Once the two were in the car and buckled in, Rachel pulled out of her spot and headed out of the parking lot, "are you really thinking of coming home?" Arin asked softly.

"I am," Rachel nodded, "but I'm not sure and it wouldn't be for a while."

"Oh, yeah, it's a big move and all," Arin agreed, "but I think it'd be really awesome if you did. You're... Well... With Noah and I so far apart in age and mom working a lot, I never really had anyone to look up to, but I looked up to you. You're like a big sister to me."

Rachel glanced at Arin and smiled, "I am? You looked up to me?"

"Yes I did," the teen nodded, "you were the first of Noah's girlfriends to ever pay attention to me or want to get to know me and you're awesome. You knew what you wanted out of life and you worked hard for it; you didn't let anyone stand in your way and you still managed to crack the shell of 'Puck' and bring Noah out more often," she added, "I missed you when you left and especially after you and Noah lost touch."

"Oh Arin!" Rachel wiped a tear from her eyes, "I'm so sorry. I should have kept in touch with you and Noah, but time just got away from me, but I'm here now. You have my number and you can call me anytime, okay?"

"I know, thanks," Arin smiled.

Rachel thought for a moment and some memories clicked in her mind, "you know, I never had a sibling, but if I had, I imagined you would be my little sister. You remind me so much of me, but you're also different, too. I'd love to spend more time with you and maybe we could have that sisterly relationship now," she offered.

Arin nodded, a smile on her face, "I'd really like that."

"Me too," Rachel agreed, pulling up in front of the Puckerman's house.

"Thanks for the ride, Rachel," Arin said with a smile.

"You're welcome. I'll see you soon," Rachel promised.

Arin laughed lightly, "probably not until Thanksgiving. I have a history paper due on Monday that I need to work on."

"And you haven't started it yet, have you?" Rachel grinned looking at her.

Arin blushed, "yes, I have started it, but I'm not that far. There are a lot of things we're required to have in it, so I need to sort everything out before I can finish the first draft," she explained.

"Alright, well, if you need any help, I'm around."

Arin nodded her thanks and slid out of the car, waving at Rachel as she walked up the steps to the front door. Once Arin was inside, Rachel pulled away from the curb and drove to her dads' house, seeing Noah pull up behind her car. Sliding out, she closed her door and moved to meet him on the sidewalk, "hello, officer. Is there something I could help you with?" She asked, curiously.

Noah smirked, "well, I got a report that there's a beautiful woman that lives here and I offered to come check her out," he winked.

Rachel blushed and stepped forward, standing on her tip toes to wrap her arms around him and kiss him, "I'm beautiful?"

"More than I could express in words," he murmured, tightening his arms around her and holding her close.

She smiled at him, her body tingling all over from his words and his strong arms around her body, "you sure know how to make me feel special."

Noah brushed some of her hair from her eyes, "because you're special to me, babe, and I want you to know that. You're amazing and I am so happy to have you back in my life," he told her, kissing her lips.

"I feel the same, Noah. I really missed you. I never want to miss you again," she told him.

"I won't let you miss me," he promised, guiding her up to the front door, "because you're stuck with me," he grinned.

Rachel smiled and before she opened the door she hugged and kissed him again, "I'm more than willing to remain stuck to you. You've always made me feel alive and it's a feeling I don't want to be without," she said honestly.

"You don't ever have to be," he promised, stepping inside the house after her and closed the door.

...

The visit with the Glee Club at McKinley really helped Rachel get her mind off of what Daniel was doing, but as dinner ended and she and Noah curled up on the couch that night to watch some movies, Noah noticed her mood was changing from the blushing young woman she had been when they got back to the house, to a scared little girl who just wanted to be held by someone and when she jumped during part of a movie he knew she'd seen before, he reached for the remote and paused the movie, "Rach, what's wrong? Talk to me," he begged, looking at her.

She bit her lip and snuggled closer to him, "I'm sorry, but I just need to be close to you right now. Daniel is... I was doing okay after I saw Arin and the Glee Club, but now everything is coming back to me and I'm getting more scared than I was and being with you seems like the only thing that is keeping me together," she admitted.

He rubbed her back gently and held her close, keeping quiet for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, "keeping occupied with things you enjoy is the best way to distract your mind from the bad stuff, but it just holds back until you get a chance to think on it, huh?" He asked softly.

"Yes," she nodded, "and I know I can't just hide from what he's doing or pretend it's not happening, but it's starting to really scare me."

"It's what he wants," he murmured, hating to admit it.

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking at him.

"He wants you to be scared; so scared that to keep from getting hurt you'll just give in eventually," he replied.

"But I'd never go back to him."

"I know, babe," he kissed her, "and he'll have to get through me before he tries," he promised her, flexing his muscles around her. "Have you seen my guns?" He asked curiously.

She giggled lightly, but nodded, "yes I have, Noah," she shifted her hands to rest against his biceps, "I see them every night and they make me feel safe," she admitted.

"Good, then stop worrying about _him_. I've got your back, and every other part of you," he assured her.

"Thank you," she replied, moving her arms to wrap around his neck, "it means so much that you're willing to protect me. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'll never have to find out," he told her, kissing her lips before stretching out on the couch and pulling her onto his chest, "because I'm not going anywhere."

...

Rachel felt like she was on a cloud for the next few days, after her and Noah's conversation Monday night. In talking to him, not only did he make her feel better, but she also realized that he, along with her dads, would be there for her, so no matter what happened, so even though Daniel was scaring her with his deliveries of flowers that continued Tuesday and Wednesday, she was able to push the fears aside and when Thursday arrived, she woke up on the holiday with a smile on her face.

Not needing to get up before sunrise, Noah and Rachel continued to sleep and Noah was the first to wake just after nine, but he was content to lay in bed with her curled up against him, while his mind wandered, thinking of of how quick things had changed between them. He knew staying at her place would end once the 'Daniel situation' was over, but while part of him knew that was the best idea for a new couple, another part of him didn't want to give it up. In just a week, he'd grown quite attached to them wrapped up together while they slept, and those nights gave him the most restful sleep he'd ever had, and he wasn't ready to end that anytime soon. "_I just want this dude out of our lives so we can have one together without him playing around in the background,_" he thought, laying on his side, his arms wrapped around her as one of his hands rubbed her back gently. "_She shouldn't be looking behind her shoulder all the time or wondering what he's going to do next. She deserves to be happy and I want to be the one who does that. I've wanted her since 'Sweet Caroline', but I settled for friendship because high school was full of drama and when we graduated, at the time, I didn't have any money to my name, so I couldn't follow her to New York, but now I do and I've grown up. I don't know what we'll do when she has to go back to New York, but we'll figure something out because I'm not letting her go again,_" he swore, pressing a soft kiss on her shoulder.

Rachel felt the kiss on her shoulder and slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him, "you're awake," she murmured.

"Yeah," he nodded, "definitely was nice to wake up and not have to get up and go to work," he admitted, smiling at her.

"What?" She asked curiously, seeing him looking at her with a sparkle in his eyes she'd never seen before.

"Nothing," he shifted a little so his head was closer to hers, "I just really like waking up, having you next to me."

"I really like that, too," she agreed, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, "_and_ that doesn't have to change anytime soon, either. We can always have slumber parties at your place, too," she whispered in his ear.

"I think that could be arranged," he replied, kissing her neck and down to her shoulder, "you're welcome at my place anytime."

...

By the time Noah and Rachel finally appeared in the kitchen, it was almost ten-thirty and his mom and sister would be over by eleven, so the two had a quick brunch and got their dishes cleaned up before Deborah and Arin arrived to help with dinner; something Deborah had insisted on after they had been invited over.

David and Alan had taken care of getting the turkey in to cook earlier in the morning, so for the next few hours, they all chipped in a little to make something for dinner.

Standing next to each other at the island, Noah was helping Rachel cut up vegetables to go into the salad. Each time he'd pick up something to put in the bowl, or she'd reach for another ingredient, their hands or arms would brush against each other, igniting their senses and after a few times of that, Noah stopped what he was doing, turned to her and pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply, knowing they both were having the same reactions to being so close.

Though Rachel was shocked at his movements, she didn't complain and reacted by wrapping her arms around his neck to continue the kiss, with their tongues brushing past their teeth and their lips pressed tightly together.

Filling the want to kiss her, Noah reached up and brushed a hand along her cheek as he reluctantly broke their lips apart, needing to catch his breath. Opening his eyes to see her blushing, he smiled at her, falling more in love with her, "you're beautiful," he whispered, unable to pull his eyes from her.

Butterflies fluttered rapidly in Rachel's stomach and knew her whole body was flushed from their intense kiss and hearing him telling her she was beautiful, made her heart beat even faster, her cheeks feeling like they were burning from blushing so much, "thank you," she replied, "you're pretty handsome yourself," she admitted smiling up at him.

"Just get together already," Arin smirked from across the kitchen.

Noah smirked a little and turned to see her dads, his mom and sister all watching them, "I want that and that's the plan, but it's all up to Rachel for when," he said, glancing back at Rachel.

Rachel opened her mouth, but closed it, thinking about the situation, "we like each other and want to be together, so why not make it official? If that is what we both want, which it is, today or a week from now is not going to matter," she admitted, "so what do you say, Noah? Wanna make it official?"

"I've waited a long time to have you as my girlfriend and this time I'm not letting you go," he promised, "so yes, I want to."

"Me, too," she smiled and pulled him in for a kiss, this time slightly shorter and less intense, but still conveying her emotions.

As they pulled from the kiss he smiled at her, "my girlfriend."

"My boyfriend," she replied hugging him once more.

...

Finally getting everything ready for dinner the six people in the Berry's house sat down to dinner together and continued their conversations from the day, all happy for Noah and Rachel's new relationship status and both of them were full of smiles and gentle touches throughout dinner.

"Thank you so much for inviting us to dinner," Deborah said, looking at the three Berrys.

"No thanks needed," David said, "it was wonderful to have you all over, especially now that Noah and Rachel are officially together. It's great that we're able to get to know his family," he explained.

Rachel looked at her boyfriend and squeezed his hand gently, "I'm sure we'll all be seeing a lot of each other in the future," she said smiling at him.

He nodded, "yes, I'm sure we will," he agreed, "family is important."

"It is," she nodded, "and I'm also very thankful to have you back in my life."

"Me, too, babe," he turned a little to her and leaned over, kissing her gently, "so glad."

...

A/N7: Yay! An update! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I promise it won't be as long before the next update. I'm still jobless and have been working on about six different stories, my four WIPs and two new ones, that will be posted after 'Returning Home' and 'Broken Road' have been completed. I do apologize for the lack of updates. I'm trying to get a chapter ahead, so this doesn't happen again, and I'm getting there, so please bare with me. I did update 'Out of the Blue' and 'Starlight' about a week ago. I've also been dealing with some personal issues, so I think that's also why it's taken me so long to update. Thanks for sticking with me in all this! Love you all!

A/N8: So I had a major "OMG" moment when watching '2x16 - Original Song'. For those of you haven't seen it yet, I hope this doesn't spoil anything. I told one of my friends the night I watched the show and now I wanna share it with all of you. I wrote chapter 4 of 'Broken Road' back in early-December 2010 and I posted it in January. In that chapter, Rachel got a chance to catch up with the former Glee members and she found out what they were doing. Specifically, I wrote: "_Rachel found out that Quinn was working in real estate, Finn was working with his step-dad at his garage..._" If you have seen 'Original Song', do you remember Rachel and Quinn talking about Finn? Quinn says: "_do you want to know how the story plays out? I get Finn, you get heartbroken and then Finn and I stay here and start a family. I'll become a successful real estate agent and Finn will take over Kurt's dad's tire shop._" As soon as she said that, I screamed 'Oh my God!' and went back to listen to it again, just to make sure I wasn't hearing things, and sure enough, it was real. I picked those jobs way back in when I wrote that chapter and then in March, to hear that on the show... I freaked out! I still am!

Next chapter: Let's just say that I didn't even expect what happens next!

...


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Broken Road, Part 7/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

**WARNING:** Contains a line from: 2x14 - Blame It On The Alcohol.

...

"I cant believe you're making us get up at," Noah groaned and sat up to read the clock, "two-forty-five am!"

"I know! We should have been up fifteen minutes ago," Rachel commented, sliding out of bed and heading for the bathroom.

Noah shook his head, "that's not what I meant!" He yelled out as the door shut. "Stupid Black Friday shopping spree," he sighed, pulling a pillow over his head, "five more minutes," he begged.

Before he could get his eyes closed, Rachel came out of the bathroom, "Noah, get up! You said you'd come with us. We have to meet everyone at four, so that doesn't give us much time to get ready," she commented, tugging the blankets off him.

"Why so fucking early?" He replied, pulling the blankets back over him, "the stores don't even open until six."

"You of all people should know why we need to leave early. It's going to be very busy and parking is going to be a mess! The sooner we get to the mall, the better," she explained.

Noah sighed again, but realized she was going to be on his case until he got up, so he pushed himself up and looked at her, "alright. I'm up. Now what?"

"Go wake up your sister while I take a shower," she said, "then when I'm done you can use mine while she uses the hall shower."

"Okay," he nodded and got up, moving across her carpet to the door, then turned back around to see her digging through her closet, "you know, you're awfully chipper for being up so damn early. What's gotten in to you? Not that I'm complaining, but it's like a total one-eighty from what you've been like all week."

Rachel paused what she was doing to look at him, "do you know what we get to do today?"

Raising a curious eyebrow to her, he thought for a moment, "stand in long lines, deal with cranky and pushy people and wander around stores for hours?" He offered, unsure what she was getting at.

Moving closer to him, she took his hands in hers and smiled, "we get to go out as a couple, officially, and that makes me extremely happy."

Noah smiled, "you're right, we do," he said, wrapping his arms around her in a loving hug.

Though Rachel rested her head on his chest and smiled, feeling safe and content in his arms, she knew they only had a short time to get ready before they had to leave, so she pulled away, "come on, I don't want to be late."

...

Just before four-am, Noah, Rachel and Arin pulled up to Matt and Mercedes' house. Tina and Mike were already there, and Quinn pulled up just moments after Noah parked his SUV. With some time free, everyone collected inside the Rutherford's house to talk and Kurt, who had come home for Thanksgiving and came with Quinn for the shopping trip, got a chance to see everyone, since he hadn't in some time, and got to talk to Rachel for the first time since high school.

Rachel knew Kurt was living in New York City and working in fashion, but she had no clue about any details. Not having a long time to chat, they didn't talk too much about the past, but mentioned a few things they'd done in the city and found out they frequented some of the same places, so they were surprised they hadn't seen each other yet.

About four-thirty, they all piled into cars and followed each other to the mall, parking together, further out in the parking lot than they usually did, because it was already filling up with people waiting to get into the mall when it opened at six.

Standing in line for over an hour, the doors finally opened and they moved inside, heading towards the first store the girls wanted to go to. At first, the guys suggested they split up; everyone going in the direction they wanted, but because of how busy it was they chose to all stay in the same general area.

Moving from one shop to the next, their hands were beginning to fill up with shopping bags of all sorts of things, including clothes, accessories, housewares, and holiday gifts. After over four hours in the mall, everyone was beginning to get to the end of their shopping high, so they left and moved onto a restaurant for brunch.

"Okay, I have to ask. Last I heard, which was less than a week ago, you two were just friends. What gives?" Kurt asked, looking at Noah and Rachel from across the table.

Rachel blushed and glanced at Noah, then turned back to their friends, "we were, up until last night. Noah and I made it official before dinner yesterday," she admitted, squeezing his hand.

"So you guys are together, for real?" Tina smiled.

"Yep, we are," Noah nodded.

"I thought you guys were going to wait a while, you know, since all that crap is going on with the ex," Matt commented.

"We were," Rachel replied, "but why? I'm completely over _him_ and Noah and I want to be together," she replied.

"No one sets the rules for dating and every person is different, so why prolong what we want?" Noah asked, though it was a rhetorical question.

As the group passed their congratulations around the table, Kurt looked confused, "well, I'm happy you two are together, but I have no clue what you're talking about with this ex person."

"Sorry, I didn't think that was my information to tell," Quinn said, glancing at Rachel, "but I can tell him later if you'd rather not talk about it," she added.

"No, it's alright," Rachel said, "I can talk about it. I think the more I talk about it the better I feel. I'm not going to let him win," she said, turning to Kurt and began to explain the situation with Daniel.

Kurt was just as worried for Rachel as everyone else was, but also agreed that letting him 'win' by giving in or being scared all the time was not the way to live, so after she explained, the subject was quickly changed to a happier one.

As brunch came to an end, the early beginning to their day was getting to everyone, so when their meals were paid for, they walked back out to their cars. Standing outside to chat for a short time, the cold air began to freeze everyone, so slowly the group left, saying 'goodbye' to Kurt, because he was leaving the next morning to go back to New York and Rachel made sure she got his number so they could keep in touch.

Rachel, Noah and Arin climbed into Noah's SUV and drove back to the Berry's. Once back, Arin gathered up her things from the overnight stay, packed up her car and thanked the Berrys for letting her stay the night. They assured her she was welcome anytime and Rachel told her she wanted to hang out a lot more before she left again, so Arin promised to get in touch soon to make plans for their next outing.

Once Arin was on her way home, Noah and Rachel went back into the house and decided to take a nap for a few hours, so after telling her dads their plans, they curled up on her bed and fell asleep, getting a chance to recharge their batteries for a few hours. Just after five that night, they two crawled out of bed and had dinner with her dads, telling them about their early morning shopping adventure and then the four settled into watching a few new movies that Rachel had gotten that day.

When the second movie ended, her dads gave in and went to bed, having been up since six-am, but Noah and Rachel managed to barely last through a third movie; as the credits rolled, both of them were nodding off, so they headed for her room and returned to bed.

...

"What do you want to do today?" Noah asked, relaxing in bed with his girlfriend Saturday morning.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I never really thought about it. Do you have any ideas?"

"No. I picked our date last weekend. Your turn," he replied, winking at her.

"We get to go on another date?" She sat up a little and smiled.

Noah raised a curious eyebrow at her, "well, couples usually go on more than one," he admitted, "or do I need to train you in the art of real relationships?" He wondered, reaching out to brush his hand against her cheek.

Rachel blushed, leaning into his touch, "no, you don't have to, but it's still going to take some getting used to."

"Yes, it will," he agreed, "so, you figure something out to do and we'll go do it today."

"Okay," she smiled, "I'll come up with something."

...

Rachel pondered what she and her boyfriend could do that day, but was drawing a blank. She didn't really know what was going on it Lima anymore, since she had only been there about a week, so when she and Noah went downstairs to have breakfast, she took the entertainment section of the paper that wasn't getting looked at by her dads and began reading it over, between times she was gathering items to make breakfast.

"How about a movie?" Rachel asked.

Noah shrugged, "sure, but it's kinda hard to talk during a movie," he admitted.

"Oh, yeah, that's true," Rachel nodded, moving back to the stove to continue cooking.

Noah took a sip of his coffee and relaxed, "if you want to, we can, but it's up to you."

Rachel moved back to her spot to glanced through the paper again, landing on a few ads and skimmed them, "what about the 'Dancing Brush'(1)?" She asked, pointing towards the brightly colored ad.

"What is it?" Noah asked, leaning over to look at the ad, "oh, that's that new pottery place down on Front Street."

"I've heard of them," Rachel admitted, "you buy the unpainted pottery and then you can decorate it however you want. They finish it and you pick it up a few days later."

"Yeah, that sounds cool," Noah agreed. "I can't say I'm very good at art, but I'm willing to try."

"Okay, great! We'll do that this afternoon," she replied with a smile.

Noah nodded, "it's a date."

...

Heading into town, Noah and Rachel's first stop was at his place. Like the previous weekend, he stopped by to pick up some clean clothes and check his mail and soon they were on their way to the 'Dancing Brush'.

"So I was thinking that we should make something for each other," Rachel commented during their drive.

"Like what?" Noah asked, glancing at her as he came to a stop at a light.

"I don't know. Maybe each of us make a plate. I'd decorate something for you and you for me," she replied.

"That sounds cool. Kind of something for the start of our relationship," he smiled and continued driving, "finally," he added, winking at her.

Rachel blushed, "yes, finally," she agreed. "Better late than never, right?" She asked as they pulled into the parking lot near the place they were going.

"Right," he nodded, leaning over and kissing her lips. "I think this is a great way to commemorate the official start," he added, before sliding out and moving around to open her door and held out his hand.

Taking his hand, Rachel climbed out of his SUV and laced their fingers together, "it is. We're also going to have a lot of fun."

"I hope so," Noah replied, smiling at her as he closed the door and locked his SUV. "I also hope it turns out decent. I have a hard enough time drawing a straight line, so I don't know how I'm going to manage this, but it's worth a shot."

"Don't worry about it," she assured him, as they began walking towards the shop, "I'm not very good at art, either, Noah and it doesn't matter what it looks like. It's the thought that counts," she added.

Noah nodded in agreement, "yeah, alright. I get you."

Walking up to the building along the sidewalk, they were greeted with a brightly colored sign, matching the ad in the paper. Noah reached for the door and he let her go inside first, following right behind her. Stepping inside the shop, they quickly noticed the large room, the center full of tables and chairs and along the walls were shelves full of unpainted pottery pieces, but the tops of the shelves had examples of art. It wasn't very busy, with a few other couples and a few families sitting around the tables and soon they were greeted by an employee. "Hi! Welcome to the Dancing Brush. I'm Jordan, how can I help you today?" She asked politely.

Rachel glanced at her boyfriend and then turned back to Jordan, "we're looking at doing an item each, today, and have never been here before, so we're not sure where to start."

Jordan smiled and began explaining how everything worked. She guided them over towards the plates and it didn't take long for Noah and Rachel to be sitting across from each other at a table, paints with brushes, stencils and other items to help in their decorating, scattered between them. Noah had been thinking about what he wanted to do and already had an idea, so once they were settled at their table, he began to work on his plate, while Rachel spent some time contemplating what she wanted to do.

...

Sitting across from each other, Noah and Rachel focused mostly on their designs, but chatted lightly while they decorated their plates. Instead of going with the traditional round plates, they both chose square ones and promised not to peek until they were both done.

"I think I'm finished," Rachel said, sitting back in her seat and studying her plate, "want to see it?" She asked, taking a nervous breath.

"I do," he nodded, keeping his hidden for the moment. When she turned it around, he saw her familiar handwriting in the center, "_You're right. We are __a couple of good lookin' Jews__ and I'm so glad to finally have your guns and badassness to keep me safe. 11/24/2016 to Forever,_" it read. Noah smiled brightly and looked around the plate, seeing all the gold stars, red hearts, his football number '20', and a few blue Star of David symbols randomly painted on and at the bottom, each corner had a red cup, with a purple liquid inside and he immediately knew what they were - slushy cups. "That's awesome, babe, great job!" He told her, turning his around to show her.

Rachel studied his work and she smiled brightly. At the top he'd written, "_11/24/2016 - I finally got __my hot little Jewish-American princess__ and it all started with..._" and under the words was a musical staff and notes. At first, she thought they were random notes until she saw the words under the staff said 'Sweet Caroline' and she realized the notes corresponded to the words in the song. Below the staff were several important shapes, including a heart, a crown, a Star of David, a guitar and a red slushy cup, along with a few flowers and gold stars, matching hers. "Oh Noah," she set her plate down and got up, moving to slide into his lap, "it looks like we were thinking the same thing," she said, hugging him tightly.

"We were," he agreed, returning her hug, "maybe one of these days I'll play that song for you again," he winked at her.

"I'd love that," she replied, kissing him, "how about we drop these off and then go to dinner."

"Sounds like a plan to me," he nodded.

...

Spending the afternoon pretending they were in elementary school art class, Noah and Rachel cleaned up their mess and left their plates to be glazed and baked, before heading out of the shop and back to his SUV. Quickly deciding on Breadsticks, Noah drove in that direction and as they were pulling into a parking spot, they noticed Mike and Tina waving at them, so when they got out, they spoke for a moment and agreed to have dinner together.

"It's so great that you're back home for December, Rachel," Tina commented.

"It is," Rachel nodded in agreement as she sat down across from her, "I'm so glad I had the time. The last few years I've only had time to come home for breaks of only a few days, so my dads did most of the traveling to New York to see me," she admitted.

"We're thinking of taking a trip to New York for our honeymoon. Kurt is almost insisting. What do you think?" Mike asked, hoping to get another person's opinion on the idea.

"To be honest," Rachel thought for a moment, "it would be a great trip, but it all depends on how long you plan to be gone and what kind of money you have. If I was in your shoes, I'd pick someplace exotic that you wouldn't always go. Since you have friends there, if you visit again, then your honeymoon wouldn't be as special as it would be if it was to someplace you probably will never get to go again," she told them, "but if you really do want to go, it is a great place," she added.

The engaged couple nodded, exchanging glances for a moment, "the thing is, we don't want to go there, but Kurt keeps saying that it will be cheaper than any where else we want to go and he knows someone who could get us a deal on a place to stay," Tina explained.

Noah shook his head, "I'm sure Kurt means well, but you have to do what you want to do. It's your honeymoon and I think you'd rather not have friends or family members stopping in whenever they feel like," he grinned.

"Dude, exactly," Mike nodded, laughing lightly when both girls blushed.

"My dads know a travel agent in town. I'll ask them to talk to her about great deals on trips," Rachel offered.

"Really? You'd do that?" Tina gasped, "that'd be awesome! We don't want to go out of the country, but we're not quite sure where we want to go," she admitted.

"That's alright. If you just tell me when you want this for and how long you'd like to be gone, they can look up some places and see what is open. The sooner you book something, the better, too," Rachel explained.

"We haven't set an exact date, but we do plan to get married this summer, since I won't be teaching summer school," Mike told them, "as for how long, I guess that depends on how long Tina can take off."

"No more than two weeks," Tina added.

While they had been talking, they also had ordered their meals and as Rachel said, "great! I'll talk to my dads about it soon," their server brought over their salad and breadsticks to get started with, so their conversation ended while they dug into dinner.

With light conversations through dinner, Rachel felt at peace. She'd had a great few days with her friends and boyfriend, without the worry of keeping to a busy schedule of practices, costume fittings, meetings or many other things she had to do for a musical production. While her mind was on her usual schedule, it drifted to the things she'd done with her friends in New York and quickly realized that a lot of the people she'd hung out with in the past few months were friends she'd met through Daniel.

"Rachel, is everything alright?" Tina asked, waving her hand in front of her face to catch her attention, "you look like you spaced off."

"Oh, um," Rachel shook from her thoughts, "I think I did. I must be getting tired," she admitted, trying to pass off the question.

"Well, dinner is covered, so if you're ready to go, we can head back to your place," Noah offered.

Rachel nodded, "yeah, I think that would be a good idea."

With receipts in their hands and a tip on the table the four adults made their way towards the exit, bundling up in jackets and scarves to go out into the cold Ohio night.

Once outside, Rachel promised Tina and Mike she would talk to her dads soon about the travel agent and let them know what she found out and after hugs and promises to be in touch, Tina and Mike headed towards their car.

Noah and Rachel walked towards his SUV and he noticed that the entire time, once Tina and Mike were gone, she was silent. Noah didn't say anything right away, but once they were in his SUV and buckled in, he glanced at her. "Alright, what's wrong?" He asked knowing she wasn't 'just tired'.

Rachel opened her mouth to respond, but seeing the 'I know you're not tired' look on his face, she didn't want to hide what she was thinking from him, so she gave in, "I was just thinking that I have true friends here and only like a handful in New York, because most of the friends I have now, I met though _him_."

"If they are friends, it shouldn't matter how you met, but if they turn their backs on you because you guys broke up, they weren't really friends to begin with," Noah said softly.

"I know," Rachel nodded, "but what if... I mean, I've been realizing that he really controlled most of my life. About the only break I had from him was when I was at work. He never came to my shows. Never wanted to do anything I suggested. He always wanted to go out to his favorite places and we were always meeting up with his friends and coworkers to have drinks or dinner, so I just got to know them... I didn't see it until now, but all he wanted was me on his arm, doing what he wanted. Now I know that and I'm free to do what I want. I also know that here at home is where my true friends are," she trialed off, taking a deep breath, "but what if he's back in New York, lying to everyone about what happened between us; turning the tables, so it sounds like it's all my fault? I'm not there to say any different."

"Rach," Noah reached out and rested his hand on her cheek, "if anyone believes a word that douche says, then they are not worth your time and like I said, they weren't really your friends to begin with, so you don't need them. He was trying to control your life, so you'd depend on him, and I bet, if you hadn't caught him and broken up with him, he would have talked you into getting married, so he could be even more controlling," he paused to think about his words, "don't think for a second that you should have figured it out or that you're smarter than that, because you had feelings for him and were blinded by them. Now you've woken up and have seen him and you know you are _so_ much better than a piece of arm candy, which is what it sounds like he wanted," he told her honestly, staring at her, "he fucked up many months of your life, but it's time to get them back."

Rachel felt tears in her eyes, realizing what he said was exactly the kinds of things she'd been thinking about in the back of her mind, but had been trying to ignore, "thank you, Noah," she murmured, "you're right. I'm taking back my life, doing what I want and being who I want to be."

"Damn right, you are," he nodded, "and I'll _always_ have your back."

She unhooked her belt and leaned over, kissing him, "I know you will, Noah," she paused a moment and smiled, "I love you."

Noah stared at her for a moment, his mind wondering if she'd really said those words. Seeing her biting her lip nervously, told him that she really had, so he smiled, pulling her against his chest in a tight hug, "I love you, too, Rach, always have, always will," he promised.

"Thank you, Noah, and I know you'll protect me," she assured him, pulling back to study his face in the dark night, the only light coming in from a street light nearby. "So you're saying that I should be doing what I want, right?" She asked softly.

"Yeah, exactly," Noah nodded, "do what you want and not let anyone else tell you differently."

A smile tugged at her lips as she thought of her words carefully, "then marry me."

Noah's mouth fell open in shock, "say what?"

"You say that I need to do what I want and I want to marry you. So, did I scare you, or do you agree with me?" She asked, immediately worried that she had scared him away.

"You want to marry me?" He asked, wanting to make sure his mind was not playing tricks on him and when she nodded, he smiled, reaching up to brush his hand along her cheek, "I'd love to," he replied softly.

"Really?" She looked at him, surprised for a moment.

"Hell yeah," he kissed her, "but are you sure this is what you want?"

"More than anything," she replied honestly, a smile on her face, "I know it's rushed and we've only been together two days, but Noah, we've known each other for a long time."

"You don't have to sell me on it, but since you proposed, you get to be the one to bring it up to your dads," he winked at her, sitting back in is seat, "and where's my diamond?"

Rachel's mouth fell open in shock, "I, um," she bit her lip, contemplating his question, but when she looked back at him, she saw the trademark Noah 'Puck' Puckerman smirk, and realized he was teasing her, "Noah! I'm being serious!"

"Oh, come on, babe, you just proposed to me. You didn't scare me, just shocked me, I'm trying to recover and be serious at the same time," he replied kissing her once more, before guiding her back into the passenger seat, "I'm just giving you a hard time. I don't need a ring to know we're getting married," he assured her, "but wedding rings; now that's a different story."

"Yes, that is true," she agreed, "what do you think about getting married before I go back to New York?"

Noah had started the engine and was about to pull out of the parking spot when she asked that and his hand slipped off the steering wheel, causing it to hit the horn, a shrill sound echoing through the quiet night, "as in before the end of the year? In December?" He asked, glancing at her.

"I know it's soon, but all of our friends are here, except a few, and my friends from New York, the ones who I know will always be my friends, would fly out for it," she told him.

"Um, wow," Noah stared outside for a moment, thinking about their options, "I, um," he smirked, "as long as we're married I don't care how, but do you really think we'll be able to pull it off?"

"I think we can, if we get our friends' help," she replied.

"Alright, I'm in," he smiled, "as long as you talk to your dads, my mom and sister first. I want them to be the first ones to find out and I also want their blessing before we move forward with the plans," he added.

"So do I," she nodded, "I definitely want our family members to approve," she assured him.

He nodded and finally pulled out of the lot, once his shock had worn off enough to function, "as long as our families are cool with it, it looks like we're getting married in less than six weeks," he told her.

Rachel grinned brightly and took his free hand in hers, "I can't wait! This is going to be amazing! I'm finally doing something I really want to do."

"It's definitely something I've thought about, but I never thought I'd actually be lucky enough to marry you," Noah admitted, smiling at her.

Ducking her head, she blushed, "I thought of it a few times, too and right now it's the only thing that makes sense to me. Even though we lost touch for a short time, you actually care for me and love me and I trust you with everything, so I know I'm making the right decision."

"And it's for good, too. I don't do this bull shit break-ups or separations because we have an argument; we work through them, because I don't ever want to hear the 'd' word come from your mouth," he told her honestly.

"The 'd' word? What's... Oh, divorce?" She asked.

Noah nodded, "yeah, my dad took off when Arin and I were kids and it left all of us really messed up and I swore to myself that when I marry, it's going to be for good. I'm not going to be my dad."

Rachel squeezed his hand, "I know you won't be. You're already a better person than he is," she assured him.

"Thanks, Rach," he smiled, pulling up to her dads' house, "you want to talk to our families at the same time? I can call and get my mom and sister over here; it's not that late," he glanced at the clock to see it was just after seven.

"Um, I think that would be a good idea," she nodded, "I'll go inside and let them know they're going to come over," she told him.

"Alright," Noah leaned over and kissed her, "I'll be inside in a few minutes."

...

Though confused at why they needed to have a 'family meeting', Deborah and Arin made their way over to the Berry's house and soon the six of them were sitting in the living room.

"So when's the big day?" Arin asked, kicked back on the couch, while everyone was silently passing confused and curious glances around the room and since they'd arrived, aside from some greetings, nothing had been said, so she figured she'd break the ice.

Rachel's gasp echoed over the room and she turned to her boyfriend, "Noah, I thought you were going to wait to tell them anything!"

"I didn't say anything!" Noah exclaimed, holding up his hands in defense.

"What?" Deborah gasped, looking at Arin and then to Rachel and Noah.

"What's going on?" David asked.

"Rachel? Noah? Arin?" Alan questioned staring at the three when no one said anything.

"Uh, I was just trying to joke with you two. I didn't think you guys would take it seriously," Arin commented.

Realizing she'd just let the news out, Rachel turned to the group, took her boyfriend's hand and smiled, "I proposed to Noah tonight and he said 'yes'. We're getting married."

The three parents in the room were stunned silent at the words Rachel said, but Arin grinned, "go Rachel! It's about time the girl asked the guy," she said clapping her hands together, then looked at Alan, David and Deborah, "oh, come on! Don't tell me you didn't see this coming."

Alan laughed lightly, pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed David a fifty-dollar bill, "the conversation came up, but I really didn't think it'd happen, but David figured it would," Alan admitted.

"Dad! Daddy! You bet on me?" Rachel exclaimed.

"Sweetheart, the night you came home and all of this started," he motioned between her and Noah, "I knew then it wasn't going to be 'just friends' for long, nor did I expect you guys to beat around the bush. Alan, on the other hand, didn't think you'd go as far as marriage so soon, but I was sure you would, so we put a little wager on it," David commented with a grin, sliding the money into his pocket.

Rachel's cheeks turned bright red as she ducked her head, surprised her dads' seemed okay with the idea.

"Mom, say something," Noah begged, seeing her sitting on the couch, staring at them. He couldn't tell if she was happy, upset or mad by the look her her eyes, and he was starting to get worried.

Deborah blinked her eyes and bit her lip, "my baby is getting married?" She asked, wiping her eyes, "this is real? It's not a joke?"

"It's real, mom. We want to get married," Noah nodded, "with all of your blessings."

"You've got mine," Arin said honestly, smiling.

"Noah, we would not have let you stay at the house if we didn't trust you with our daughter. We know you'll take care of her. You've showed us that already, so you have our blessing," David replied looking at them as Alan nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," Noah smiled, as everyone turned to look at his mom.

"This is wonderful news!" Deborah grinned, "it's just all so sudden, I... I have so many questions, but I'm extremely happy to welcome you to our family," she told Rachel.

A sigh of relief escaped both Noah and Rachel's lips at her words, "thank you, Deborah, Arin, that means a lot and if I may explain a few things, it may answer a few questions," Rachel offered.

"Go for it," Alan said, getting nods from everyone else.

"As you know, Noah and I briefly dated our Junior year of high school, and though we didn't continue a relationship, we remained friends," she started, looking at Noah. "Today, we realized that we have loved each other since we dated in high school, which is a little over seven years. Yes, we did lose touch for a few years, but our feelings never changed: we still love each other," she paused, "with my previous relationship being what it was, tonight I got thinking about how _he_ was trying to control my life and Noah reminded me that I need to do what I want. I don't want to prolong what I want with him. I want is to marry him, so I proposed," she glanced at their parents and Arin and smiled, "I know this may seem sudden, but we do both want to get married and since I'm here until early January, I'd really like to get married before I have to go back to New York."

"Whoa!" David sat back, "sweetheart, that's less than six weeks. You have a lot to talk about and plan before then."

"We know," Noah nodded, "as far as I'm concerned, I'd just go to the courthouse and sign the papers, but Rachel deserves a real wedding. We want to be married and we think we'll be able to pull it off. I also think I know the perfect place to have it."

"You do?" Rachel asked, looking at him, "where?"

"McKinley," he smiled, "they have proms there all the time, so I know it could be fixed up for a wedding. There is plenty of space and several spots to do it and school is out for two weeks over Winter Break for the holidays, so we wouldn't have to worry about rushing to decorate one night for a ceremony the next day," he told them, "and with Will and Dave working there, and me being on Figgins' good side, I think they'd let us, because a lot of my guests will be cops and the school has a special meaning for us, considering our feelings began there."

Rachel's eyes widened and she grinned brightly, "that's an awesome idea! We'll have to discuss it with Principal Figgins and several others, because I'm sure that's not an easy decision to make, but I'd love to get married there, if we can."

"Great!" Noah smiled, "that covers the where, but now we have to figure out the when and everything else."

"What about your friends from New York?" Alan asked, turning to Rachel, "won't it be hard for them to come out?"

"I don't think so. To be honest, Noah and I got on the topic of me doing what I wanted when I admitted I didn't know how many friends I had left there. I have a few close friends from college, but most of the people I call friends now, I met through _him_, so I don't really know if any of them would be my friends, now that he and I are no longer together. The few I have from college, that I know are my real friends, would drop everything to come out for the wedding, but the others, I don't know, but we do know that our families and our true friends are here in Lima, so aside from those few from New York, everyone is here already," Rachel explained.

"Oh sweetheart, if they really are your friends, it shouldn't matter how you met," Alan told her, "and if they choose him over you, then they're not worth it."

Rachel smiled, "thanks, dad. Noah told me the same thing and I think I know that, too."

Noah slipped his arms around her, "we've all got your back," he promised.

She nodded and returned his hug, "I know. Thank you," she kissed him and then looked at the others, "all of you."

Arin jumped up and moved over to Rachel, sitting down next to her, "you're welcome. This is awesome! You guys are getting married! We'll be sisters!"

"We will be," Rachel nodded, moving from Noah's arms and hugged Arin, "but we were already," she added.

Pulling away from the hug, Arin nodded, "yeah, I think so, too," she agreed, "and I'll help you plan as much as I can," she promised.

"Thank you, Arin. I'd love the help," she replied.

"We should probably round up all of our friends tomorrow and make the announcement, so we can get them helping, too," Noah added.

"Right. We don't have a lot of time," Rachel commented, blushing.

"We'll get it taken care of," Noah assured her, "it'll be great."

"It will be," Rachel nodded and smiled, "we can do this."

...

1. ( dancingbrushstudio . com/ ) - This place is not too far from where I live. I chose that, since I've been by there and know the place a little better. If you haven't seen season 2, there is an episode where someone brings up 'Color Me Mine', which is the same type of place, but I chose to use a familiar name to me.

Underlined text came from 1x08 - Mash-up and 2x14 - Blame It On The Alcohol

...

A/N7: I surprised myself with this idea, but I love it! When I thought of it, I ran it by PKteach, who said she loves fics where 'they elope or get married quickly', and since she's the one I'm writing this for (as a birthday fic) I'm sticking with it. Hope you guys all enjoy the twist!

A/N8: This was getting longer than the normal chapter lengths, so this seemed to be an okay spot to stop. I'll try to keep your waiting for the next update to a minimum. I am sorry for the long gap between updates. I thought I would have done this sooner, but I've been playing catch up with another fic and dealing with some things in my regular life, so time just got away from me. Hopefully I'm back now.

**! PLEASE READ ... IMPORTANT WARNING !**

Starting with Part 10, the rating for this fic will change from 'T/PG-13' to 'M/R'. Part 10 & beyond, though spoiling a bit, will feature some discussions about rape and the actions of attempted rape. Myself, along with a few trusted readers and fellow writers, agreed that this topic was serious enough to warrant the change to a higher rating. I'm aware of the seriousness of this topic and decided to warn you early enough so if the topic bothers you in any way, you can stop reading. If you do continue on, that's great, but if you don't, I totally understand and have no hard feelings.

...


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Broken Road, Part 8/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

A/N7: My Dave Karofsky, only goes up to the end of Season 1, but his orientation from season 2 is involved in this story. He NEVER threatened to 'kill' Kurt in my fic; he just continued the Glee Club bullying/slushying. Now that he's grown up a lot and 'come out', he's made amends with the former Gleeks for all the stuff he did in school and is a close friend to the ones who still live in Lima.

...

"Did you really propose to me last night?" Puck asked the next morning, when he woke up next to an already awake Rachel.

She blushed and nodded, "yes, I did."

"Okay," he nodded, "I just wanted to make sure, because if not, it was quite an interesting dream."

"Not a dream. Now that it's official and you're so badass, if you feel you need to propose to me, you know, to make sure you're not turning into a girl, you're more than welcome to," she added with a grin.

He smirked, "are you questioning my badassness again?"

"Never!" She shook her head, kissing him, "but I have seen movies and when Matt and the guys at work find out that your girlfriend proposed to you, don't you think it'll give them license to tease you?" She wondered.

Thinking for a moment, he groaned and plopped back against the pillows, "I didn't even think about that," he murmured, pushing himself up and out of bed to put on a t-shirt, "we need to go get you a ring, like now, so I can do it for real."

Rachel had completely expected a similar reaction, so she sat up on her knees and crawled to the edge of the bed, "Noah, this isn't real enough?" She asked, tugging her top off, revealing her bare chest.

Noah coughed in shock, his eyes falling on her chest and then looked at her, "oh trust me, this is all real," he promised, moving to wrap his arms around her and kiss her, not caring about their morning breath.

"Very real," she agreed, groaning slightly when she felt his body reacting to her.

"Save it for the wedding night," he replied with a grin, kissing her lips and down her neck to her shoulder, "we'll have plenty of time to do that."

"Are you sure?" She asked softly, sitting back a little, "I get so caught up and I don't think about our reactions and then... I feel horrible for leading you on, Noah," she admitted.

"You're not," he started, "well, you are doing a damn good job at teasing the hell out of me, but I respect you wanting to wait and I'm all for supporting you on that. Yes, in a way, you're leading me on, but it's okay. I understand and I think we should wait until our wedding night, because that moment when we actually do make love will be even more special," he explained, "stop worrying. I can always take a cold shower," he added with a wink.

"Okay, as long as you're sure," she nodded, trying to calm her own feelings.

"I'm sure," he kissed her gently once more, "and speaking of cold shower, I think I'm going to go take one. Be downstairs soon."

She giggled, but nodded, "alright. I'll shower after we eat breakfast, then."

...

Wrapping herself up in a warm robe after her boyfriend had gone to shower, Rachel happily skipped downstairs to find her dads in their usual spots reading the newspaper and drinking coffee, "good morning, dad, daddy," she grinned.

"Good morning, sweetheart," David said, waving his hand as he set his cup of coffee down.

"Hey, kiddo. You're awfully chipper this morning," Alan added.

Rachel smiled, "I'm so happy. Noah and I are getting married. I can't wait to start planning! Is it alright that we invite our friends over this evening? I want to announce it to everyone today, but Noah and I are going to go out and look for rings as soon as we're ready for the day, so I figured we could invite them over for dinner; maybe order pizza," she commented.

"That sounds alright," David replied, "but isn't it a bit short notice to get everyone over tonight?"

"I don't know. Most everyone works during the week, but if they can't make it, at least some of them will be able to," she admitted.

"They're welcome over here, anytime," Alan added, "but what about rings? Do you guys have any idea what you want? I mean, you shouldn't just go out and buy the first set of rings you see and like. Don't you want to shop around?"

"When we see the rings we want, we'll know it," Rachel told them as she began setting out things to make breakfast. "Noah has a job where he shouldn't have a gold band, so I think he should get a stronger metal, like titanium, with it plain, unless he wants something fancier. As for me, I don't want a large gaudy ring, but something that I like the looks of. Maybe a round solitaire for the engagement ring. We'll see what stores have and there are several in the mall. I'm sure we'll be able to find the right rings at one of them," she added.

"Well, now is the time to get them, too. With the holidays coming up, everyone is going to be having sales," David nodded, "so I'm sure you'll find them, too, we just don't want you guys to spend a lot of money on something you don't like in a few months."

"I appreciate the concern, but we're not going to dislike what we get. As long as we both have a wedding ring and I have an engagement ring, we'll be fine," she promised.

While Rachel and her dads had been talking, she was moving around the kitchen making breakfast and as she finished cooking a pack of turkey bacon, Noah entered the kitchen and greeted David and Alan, then moved to Rachel, giving her a hug and a kiss before filling up a cup of coffee and taking a seat across from the guys.

"So, Noah. Rachel tells us you guys are going to go look for rings today," Alan commented.

Noah nodded, "yes, we are. I think it's the most important," he admitted.

"It is very special," David agreed, "but as we told her, just don't jump into buying the first ring you see because it's in your budget."

"Oh I know. We have to wear them forever, so we need to like them and," Noah looked at Rachel, "I love you babe, but I do have a limit," he smirked.

"I'm not rich either," she added. "I say we each pay half."

"That sounds like a good idea," Noah nodded, smiling at her.

Rachel moved over to him and pressed a kiss to his lips, "I love you, too."

"Have either of you thought about the date you want to get married on?" Alan asked.

"Not yet, but we should," Rachel got up and got the calendar from the wall and moved to sit back down with it, flipping to December, "when is school out at McKinley again?"

"Well, because Christmas and New Year's Day fall on Sundays, McKinley's last day of school is Tuesday the 20th and they go back on Wednesday, January 4th," Noah told her, pointing to the dates on the calendar.

"I think we should get married on a weekend. That way most of our guests won't have an issue coming, but the only issue is that I refuse to get married on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so we can either get married on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day," Rachel explained.

Noah thought for a moment and looked at her, "New Year's Day. That way we don't have any confusion on our taxes this year or next year," he replied.

Rachel reached for a pen and smiled, flipping to last page of the calendar and circled the first of January, "January first it is," she grinned, leaning over and kissed him.

"Great! Now we have a date to talk to Principal Figgins about," Noah replied.

She nodded and got up, returning to finish up breakfast preparations, "I am planning to go see the Glee Club again tomorrow, so maybe you could meet me up at McKinley around two and we could talk to Figgins together. The sooner we talk to him the better," she commented, beginning to bring items over to the island for them to start eating.

"Yeah, I should be able to, as long as we don't get a call. I'm sure we're going to have a lot of things we're going to have to do, so I'll let my boss know," he told her.

"Thank you. I hate that you'd have to take a lot of time off and I know I can do a lot of the plans on my own, but some of them will require you, too," Rachel said softly.

"I know and it's okay. My boss will understand and I've got plenty of time to use up," he admitted. "About eight weeks of vacation, I think, which reminds me. When do you have to be back in New York?"

Rachel's shoulders slumped, "I was leaving on the seventh of January, it's a Saturday," she murmured, "damn it!" She huffed, "I forgot about all that, well, I mean I didn't, but what are going to do?" She exclaimed, "you live and work here. I live and work in New York!"

Noah got up and moved towards her, pulling her into his arms and kissed her, "we'll figure it out. I have plenty of time to take off, so when you have to go back, I'll go with you and spend like two weeks there and we can decide exactly what we want to do," he promised.

"I just," she took a deep breath, then shook her head, "I just won't go back. Simple as that. I'll call the director of the production and tell him something came up and I've decided to turn down the offer. I haven't signed a contract with them, yet, so I'm not obligated to..."

"Absolutely not," Noah shook his head, looking at her, "we'll work this out. It's going to be tough, but you are going to be in that show. No questions asked. This is what you've dreamed of, baby, and I'm not going to take that away from you. The living arrangements and everything else will be dealt with later. Right now, we're getting married, then I'll work for a few days and when you were going to go back to New York, I'll go, too, and stay for a few weeks. After that, we'll take it one step at a time," he told her.

Listening to him, she bit her lip and felt tears in her eyes, "do you... do yo really think we can make it work?" She choked out, "long distance relationships are so hard!"

"They are, but we _will_ make it work, baby. I promise," he smiled at her, wiping her eyes and then pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She nodded, "okay," she took a deep breath and hugged him tightly, relaxing in his strong embrace, "we can do this," she said softly.

"We can," he nodded, glancing at her dads to see them smiling and nodding in agreement.

...

After getting Rachel calmed down, Noah helped her finish making breakfast and the four of them sat down and chatted lightly about the wedding arrangements and plans that needed to be made. When breakfast was finished, Noah and Rachel's dads did the dishes while Rachel went up to shower and by the time she was done and ready to go out for the day, they had just finished up with cleaning the kitchen up.

Grabbing their jackets and saying 'bye' to her dads, Noah and Rachel headed out to his SUV and drove over to the Lima mall, where all the jewelery stores were. "Before we go in, we should call everyone. That way they have time to plan on coming over," Rachel commented.

"Oh yeah, that's right. We were going to do that," Noah pulled his phone out and looked at her, "are you sure you want to get married?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Noah. I've never been so sure of anything in my life," Rachel replied, "are you sure?" She asked, worried he was rethinking it.

He leaned over and kissed her, "damn right, I'm sure," he murmured against her lips, "I've wanted you as my wife for a long time," he assured her.

Rachel grinned and smiled, "then it's time to tell our friends," she paused and then gasped, "oh no! Tina and Mike are planning their wedding! What if they're mad that we're doing it before them, yet they've been engaged longer?"

"They're not going to care, but we can call them and tell them now, and then ask them to keep it quiet until everyone is over tonight," Noah suggested.

"Yes, let's," she nodded.

Calling Mike and Tina's place, once they were all on speakerphone, Rachel glanced at Noah, "well, we have an announcement, but we wanted to talk to you guys first."

"Really? What's up?" Tina asked.

"Well, last night when I kind of spaced out, I wasn't really tired. I just... It hit me that all my real friends are here in Lima and most of the people I call friends in New York, I met through my ex, so I doubt may of them will speak to me again and also because I realized that my ex kind of controlled what I did."

"Oh, Rachel, of course we're your real friends!" Tina said. "And it's a good thing you're over this guy, because he sounds like an asshole."

"Yeah, he does," Mike agreed.

"Thank you. That's great to hear," Rachel smiled, "so anyway, Noah and I were sitting in his SUV after you guys left last night and we were talking about that and Noah told me that I needed to do what I wanted in my life," she paused grinning, "so I proposed to him."

"Oh my God! You what?" Tina gasped.

"Proposed, as in asked him to marry you?" Mike asked.

"Yep," Noah nodded, "we're getting married."

"Wow! Congratulations! That's so awesome! Have you guys thought of a date yet?" Tina asked.

"Yeah, congrats guys," Mike added.

"Thanks," Noah smiled, looking at Rachel, "and after getting over the shock and saying 'yes', we told her dads, my mom and sister last night and picked a date this morning."

"You guys are the first of our friends to find out and we were hoping to invite everyone over to my dads' house this evening for dinner, say around four, to announce it to everyone, so could you please not say anything until we tell everyone?" Rachel begged.

"Of course! We won't say anything and we'll definitely be there tonight," Tina promised.

"Great! Anyway, the reason why we're telling you first is, well, I'm only here for about six more weeks, so we're planning on getting married on January first and I know you guys have been engaged a lot longer and are planning for a summer wedding, so we don't want you guys to be upset with us for planning it so soon," Rachel explained.

"I'm happy for you guys," Mike told them, "I'm not upset at all."

"Same here," Tina agreed, "I'm totally happy and it doesn't matter about the when or how long. I'm just super glad you guys are together and getting married. If you need any help planning, I'll be happy to help, too."

"Thank you both, and we will definitely take you up on the offer. We'll talk to you guys about it when everyone is over, because we'll need all the help we can get to get this done in five weeks," Rachel admitted.

Agreeing to talk that night, Rachel gave them her dads' address so they could get directions online to the house and they said 'goodbye', so they could call their other friends. When they called Matt and Mercedes and Finn and Quinn, they just asked them to come over to Rachel's dads' place at four and gave them the address. The four, though confused at the quick party invite, agreed they'd be over and after hanging up, Rachel and Noah discussed who else to call and agreed to call Will Schuester and Dave Karofsky. They were only other two close friends in town, so calling Will first, Rachel got confirmation that Will and Emma Pillsbury were married, something she'd thought was true, but had not asked. Going through the same conversation they had with the Hudsons and Rutherfords, Will and Emma agreed to come over and called Dave last.

"What's up you two?" Dave asked, once he knew it was both Noah and Rachel.

"Not much at the moment, but what are you doing later this evening, say around four?" Rachel asked.

"Grading papers, probably," he replied.

"Dude, you're always doing that," Noah commented.

"Well, I am a teacher, so I can't just not look over the papers my students give me. They do want grades, you know?" Dave admitted with a laugh.

"Yeah, there is that," Noah agreed.

"Noah! Stop interrupting," Rachel nudged him playfully in the shoulder, "Matt, Mike, Finn, Will, and their significant others are coming over to my dads' house at four. Noah and I have an announcement that we'd like to share with you all at the same time," Rachel explained, trying to get to the point of the conversation.

"Oh, alright. That's cool. I can come over," Dave replied.

Rachel smiled and rattled off the address and then after a few more words, they hung up and the two were finally able to get out of the SUV and headed into the mall. "We should probably invite your mom and sister over. I'm sure we'll begin discussing details and I want them involved in the planning," Rachel admitted.

"Well, it's too loud inside to hear on speakerphone, so just follow me and you call them," he said, "we have a bit of a walk to get to the jewelery stores."

"Okay," Rachel nodded and pulled her phone out and called Arin's number, since it was the first in her contacts. Luckily, the two were at the grocery store, so it was an easy call and after just a few quick moments to explain the party and they'd chosen a date, Deborah and Arin agreed to come over and Rachel hung up with them just as they reached an area in the mall where the major jewelery stores were. "Ready?" Rachel asked with a grin.

"Oh yeah," Noah nodded, taking her hand, "it's about time I got a ring on your finger."

She blushed, but squeezed his hand, "I feel the same way," she agreed, walking into the closest store.

Because it was the holiday season, every shop was busy, including all of the jewelery stores, so they didn't figure it'd be a short day. With glass cases scattered throughout the shop, they looked back and forth until they found the wedding and engagement ring section, where two other couples were standing, looking at the same thing, with one sales person standing behind the counter.

"Welcome! Is there anything I can help you find?" The person asked them.

"Not right now," Rachel replied politely, "we're just looking."

"Okay, let me know if you have any questions."

Though there were four other people standing around the same display, Rachel glanced over the rings. She saw a few styles that she liked, but none jumped out at her as 'the one', so she turned a little to Noah, "do you see anything?"

Noah took a glance through the case, "nope."

"Are you even looking?" She asked with a laugh.

"Yes, I just don't see anything that stands out," he told her.

"Okay, let's go to the next store," she said.

Moving out of the the first store, they went into the one next door. It wasn't as busy, so they had a little more room to look and as they reached the section they were looking for a woman walked up to them and greeted them, "Good morning, how are you two doing today?" She asked.

"We're doing great. How about you?" Rachel replied with a smile.

"I'm okay. Thanks for asking. Is there anything specific you're looking for?"

"An engagement ring and wedding bands," Rachel said.

"Congratulations. When's the big day?"

"New Year's Day," Noah replied, glancing through their selection.

They were thankful the woman didn't ask any more and stepped away, allowing them look through the rings without someone staring at them. "They're just as bad as used car salesmen," Noah murmured.

Rachel giggled, but nudged him a little, "Noah, that's not nice."

"I know, but you laughed, so it works," he smirked, kissing her lips, "see anything you want to try on?"

She returned her gaze to the lighted case nodded, "yes, I see several I want to try."

Calling over the person they'd just talked to, she pulled out the few rings Rachel was interested in trying on and as she slid the first ring on, even though it was not quite the style she was thinking of, seeing the diamond on her hand solidified their engagement to both Noah and Rachel.

After three or four rings, none of them really appealing to her, she did figure out more of what she wanted, so they thanked the woman and then left the store, "come on. Let's go get a smoothie before we continue," Noah offered. With his suggestion, the two headed for the Orange Julius and once they got to the front of the line, placed their orders and waited for them, "so have you thought any more about what you want specifically?" He asked, picking up their cups and handing hers over.

"Yes, I have actually," Rachel nodded, "I was telling dad and daddy this morning that I wanted at least a round stone and I still do," she commented, "and now I think I want the rings to be a set, so they match."

"That's a good idea. I'd love to get a matching ring to yours, but with what I do, I'd hate for it to be ruined in a year and need to get a new one," he admitted.

"I totally understand, Noah. I expected you'd get a titanium one," she told him, "our rings don't have to match to prove we're married. As long as you've got a ring on, then the girls will know this handsome cop is taken," she winked at him as they walked through the mall.

Noah smirked and draped his arm around her shoulders, "I think the same about you, babe. Last thing I want is some gay chick or straight dude thinking you're available."

Rachel smiled, relaxing as they continued to walk and she looked at him as an idea came to her, "I have a better idea."

"Yeah? What is it?" He asked curiously.

"Well, we know that you should get a titanium ring, because it's a stronger metal than gold."

"Yes, we've already covered that," he smirked.

She giggled, "let me finish... Why don't we get matching wedding bands, then? I'll get a titanium one, too, just like the one you get. I noticed there were his and her sets in some of the cases," she explained.

"That's a great idea, babe," he smiled, "let's do it."

"Awesome!" She turned a little and kissed his lips, "next shop?"

"Lead the way," he murmured, kissing her again.

Stepping into the next one, they glanced through the cases and once they found the wedding ring section, they began looking over what they had. Since they had agreed to get matching bands, they both started looking at the titanium section first and Rachel saw several she liked. Catching the attention of one of the sales people, he came right over and began to help them out. After trying two different rings on, Rachel put the second one down, "I think they're too shiny," she admitted.

Noah laughed, "that is not a quality I thought you'd complain about."

"I think it's too flashy for you," she added seriously.

Studying the rings she'd tried on, he slipped the guy's version on and though it didn't slide all the way down his finger, he did get a chance to see what she was talking about and took it off, "yeah, I see what you mean," he agreed.

"We actually have more down the case a little bit," the guy said.

Rachel and Noah moved down a few feet and peered over the rings inside, "that's what I'm thinking of," Rachel grinned, pointing to several rings in the middle, that still had a shine, but were slightly duller than the others.

"You found them," the sales guy said, opening up the case and taking out the tray holding three sets, "these are pretty much all the same look, but one has a wave pattern engraved on it, one has crosses over it and the other is without the detailing, except it does have thin bands around it," he explained.

"Well, considering we're Jewish, the crosses are not important to us. I actually like the plain band," Rachel said, pointing to it. The guy took out the women's band and handed it to her, so she slipped it onto her ring finger, held up her hand and studied it. It was only a millimeter wider than the other bands she'd tried on, but it didn't seem as bulky. Turning to Noah she smiled, "it's perfect. What do you think?"

Noah looked at her hand, "I think that's it," he smiled, picking up the matching men's ring and slid it in, surprised that it fit, "and even more so, now that both of the rings fit us," he smiled, showing her his hand.

She smiled brightly and leaned forward pressing a kiss to his lips and then slid the ring off of her hand, "we'll take them," she told the guy.

"Great! I'll get a box for them. Are you going to look for an engagement ring, too?" He asked, "I noticed you weren't wearing one."

"Actually we're looking for one of those, too," Noah replied.

Putting back the rings they were not interested in, he held onto the ones they were going to get and guided them down to the engagement ring section.

"What are we looking at right now for price?" Rachel asked, surprised it had not been asked yet.

"These are both a hundred. Well, the women's is; the men's is five dollars more," he explained, "but we have a lot of sales going on right now, so the price for all the rings will go down."

"Wonderful!" Rachel smiled, her eyes dancing across the various shapes and sizes of the rings in the case.

"I see a couple of round stones," Noah said directing her to two different ones, one a solitaire and the other with smaller diamond accents in the band.

"Oh, I like those!" She smiled, "can I try them?"

"Sure," the guy smiled and unlocked the case, taking out the two they were talking about, "you like round stones?"

Rachel nodded, "yes, I do."

He handed her the women's wedding band, "the wedding band usually goes on first and the engagement ring next. Well, once you guys are married, at least."

"That's right," Rachel agreed, sliding the wedding band on first and smiling as it settled on her finger like it was supposed to be there, then slid on the diamond solitaire, contemplating how they looked together, "I don't know. Let's try the other one," she said, handing the diamond ring back and took the other one and slid it on slid it on.

"You're lucky. We usually keep our women's rings in the same size, and we hardly ever get women in here that wear that size," the guy commented.

Rachel smiled, "I am very lucky," she said, looking at Noah before turning her eyes back to the ring on her hand. A larger round stone stood up, just like the solitaire she had just tried on, but this had added accents to the left and right of the stone. One each side were four small diamonds, sunk into the band. "I love this," she admitted, turning her hand around to show Noah.

"It's an awesome ring. If I had a choice between the two, I'd get that one," he motioned to the one she had on.

"Me too," Rachel agreed, biting her lip, "do I dare ask how much this is?" She asked, unrolling the tag that was wrapped around the band, "oh, wow, cheaper than I thought it'd be," she smiled.

Noah peaked at it and thankfully only saw three numbers before the decimal, so he knew it was at least under a thousand bucks, "is it the one you want? I want my ring, but what about yours? Are you sure about them?" He asked softly.

Rachel took both rings off and studied each of them before handing them to the sales guy, "yes, I'm sure."

"Then we'll take all three of them," Noah told the guy with a smile.

"Excellent," he slid all three rings into the box and returned the other one to the case, "let me get an information sheet and we can go write these up," he said reaching for a stack of papers and then guided them down to one of the empty desks with a computer at it. Noah and Rachel took seats and the guy opened the box and took each ring out. "Okay, so we have two titanium wedding bands and one diamond engagement ring. These are the correct ones, right?" He asked, "and they all fit?"

Noah took his ring and slid it on, "yep," he took it off and handed it over.

Rachel had done the same thing and agreed to her two rings, so the guy began doing the necessary paperwork for each ring, "do you want a warranty on each ring? It's only twenty-five for each ring. It covers cleaning and resizing and minor repairs, if necessary," he said.

"Yes, we do," Noah nodded.

The guy bounced from writing information on his tablet to typing information into the computer and after a few moments, paused, "you guys are going to love this."

"Love what?" Rachel asked.

"Well, the wedding bands are as low as they'll go, but the engagement ring is on sale for two-hundred off the regular price, and because you're buying more than two items, each one automatically gets a discount. The engagement ring is now just under four-hundred-fifty and with sales tax and the warranties added on, your entire cost is about seven-hundred-thirty-dollars, which is seventy dollars less than the original price of the engagement ring," he explained.

"Oh wow, that's amazing!" Rachel smiled, "it's much less than I expected we'd be paying."

"It is," Noah agreed, "that's awesome. I didn't know that was a sale," he added.

"Well, it's an unadvertised sale, because it's not often people come in looking for more than a single item," he commented. "Now all I need is one of your names and addresses and to find out how you're going to pay and we'll be all set."

Noah pulled out his wallet with his badge displayed on one side and the other had his police ID and his driver's license. "You can use my name and address."

Putting in Noah's information, he got Noah to verify that it was correct and between the couple, as agreed that morning, they split the cost down the middle and each paid half and just after one in the afternoon they were walking out of the jewelery store with their rings in a box at the bottom of the small bag in Noah's hand.

"I'm so excited," Rachel grinned, stopping in the middle of the walkway and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him. "I love you, Noah."

He returned her tight hug and kiss and smiled, "I love you, too, baby."

...

For the time of day and with their friends coming to the Berry's house in just a few hours, they stopped at one of the restaurants in the food court at the mall and picked up a light snack to get them through until later on and headed out to his SUV.

As they got on their way, Rachel thought they were heading back to her dads' house, but as Noah took an odd turn, Rachel looked at him, "Noah, where are we going?" She asked curiously.

"You'll see," he grinned.

Sitting back in her seat, she watched Lima pass by and in just a few moments Noah pulled into the parking lot of one of the local parks, "I figured we could take a few minutes to relax alone before we hardly see each other between me working and us planning the wedding," Noah explained.

"We'll see each other a lot," she said, "and if you don't continue to stay at my dads, I can stay at your place," she murmured.

"That sounds great," he smiled, "you know you're welcome anytime. Just say the word."

"We should wait until we get married to stay there. At least then we would have some privacy," she winked at him.

"We could," he agreed with a grin, "now you're thinking like me."

"I learn from the best," she replied, "come on. Let's go for a walk."

As she slid out of the car, Noah reached for the bag from the jewelery store and after a few seconds of digging, he pulled out the engagement ring and slid it into his pocket before joining her on the sidewalk.

Rachel had a feeling he had taken the slight detour to find a peaceful place to propose and when she saw him reaching for something, she knew she was right. Even though she knew what was coming, she still had butterflies in her stomach from excitement, because she hadn't known where, when or if he was going to.

Hand-in-hand, they walked a short distance along the cement path that wrapped around the park's small lake and as they paused to look out over the water, Noah turned to her and smiled, "I'm not doing this because I'm worried about the guys teasing me, because I don't care. I'm also not doing this because you suggested it either. I'm doing this because I want you to know that I'll always be with you and be on your side, no matter what, and because you deserve a proposal, too," he knelt down on one knee and took her hand, "Rachel, will you marry me?" He asked with a smile, holding up the engagement ring they'd just gotten.

"Yes, I will," she nodded happily, feeling tears fall from her eyes as he slid the ring on her hand, fitting like it was meant to be there all along and as he stood up, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, "I love you!" She exclaimed.

Noah wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground, slowly spinning them as they kissed, "I love you, too, Rachel, so much," he promised, carefully setting her back down and reaching up to wipe her eyes. "I've always got your back."

She grinned and nodded, "and I've always got yours," she promised, "and I know that no matter what happens we will make it through together."

"Yes we will," he agreed.

...

Underlined text came from 1x08 - Mash-up

...

I found pictures of their rings at: ( kay . com ). I have pictures of them posted on my LJ's post of this chapter here: ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com / 47385 . html )

...

A/N7: Hope you all enjoyed! Please review and let me know! I'm not getting a ton of reviews per update, so I have no clue what you guys are thinking about the fic. Please tell me. I do understand being busy or reading on devices that it's not easy to review on, but if you can, I'd really appreciate it. Even if the message is just 'loved it'. Your reviews keep me writing! To those of you who have reviewed, thank you so much! I'm sorry it's taken me forever to reply, but I'll try to get to them as soon as I can; I love them all! Thanks for reading! Love you all!

A/N8: Oh! Make sure you guys add me to your author alerts list, if you can. It'll let you know when I post new fics, not just the fics you've got a 'story alert' on. That way, if you like my writing, when this fic is over and I post a new story, you'll get a message about it.

**! PLEASE READ ... IMPORTANT WARNING !**

Starting with Part 10, the rating for this fic will change from 'T/PG-13' to 'M/R'. Part 10 & beyond, though spoiling a bit, will feature some discussions about rape and the actions of attempted rape. Myself, along with a few trusted readers and fellow writers, agreed that this topic was serious enough to warrant the change to a higher rating. I'm aware of the seriousness of this topic and decided to warn you early enough so if the topic bothers you in any way, you can stop reading. If you do continue on, that's great, but if you don't, I totally understand and have no hard feelings.

...


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Broken Road, Part 9/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

...

After Noah proposed to Rachel and the couple got to spend some time together at the park, they returned to her dads' house and showed off the engagement ring and wedding bands they had purchased.

David and Alan offered to go out and pick up some chips and drinks, since they didn't have much for a party and once they were gone, Rachel and Noah gathered up some extra chairs and rearranged the furniture in the living room a little so there was plenty of room, and relaxed for a while before their friends arrived.

"You may want to get a notebook or something so we can start writing down ideas and what we need to do," Noah suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Rachel jumped up from the couch and headed for her dads' den, collecting a blank tablet of paper and returned, "we're going to need as much help as we can get," she smirked, sliding into his lap and kissing him.

"We'll get it," he assured her. "Have you thought about how Jewish you want it to be?"

She was quiet for a moment, contemplating his question, "I want it simple, yet still has some of the Jewish traditions in place, like the marriage contract and the wedding canopy. Under the canopy, we'll circle each other, say our vows, exchange rings, kiss, break the glass and then we'll move onto a simple reception. I'm sure Rabbi Goodman will understand that we don't have a ton of time to plan this and he'll still officiate over the wedding, even if we don't follow the Jewish traditions exactly," she said, writing down notes on the paper.

"He will," Noah told her, "he's cool. I don't go to Temple a lot, but mom goes all the time and I've been to a few weddings and they're about the same as what you described. He doesn't make the bride and groom be apart for the week prior, like a real traditional one requires," Noah explained.

"Oh thank goodness! I wouldn't be able to go a week without seeing you," she replied, relaxing.

He kissed her, "same here," he agreed.

...

David and Alan got back with some snacks and drinks and just before three-thirty, Arin and Deborah showed up and Rachel showed off her engagement ring and the wedding rings they'd purchased. Arin was extremely excited to see them and Deborah, feeling the same as Arin, also admitted that seeing the rings made everything seem even more real than they already were. 

"I'm going to take my ring off now," Rachel said, once Deborah and Arin had seen the rings. "It will be completely obvious why we asked everyone to come over if I'm wearing it," she explained, "so I'll put it on once we tell them," she added, looking at Noah, "is that alright?"

"Yeah, just don't keep it off for too long," he winked at her.

"I won't," she promised, sliding the ring off and slipping it into her pocket.

Those in the house moved into the living room, just as the doorbell rang, so Rachel moved to get it, finding Tina and Mike on the other side. "Hey!" Rachel smiled. "Thanks for coming!"

"We wouldn't miss this for the world!" Tina exclaimed, walking in and hugging her, "congratulations!"

"Thank you," she replied, returning Tina's hug.

"Have you gotten rings yet?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's what we did this morning," Rachel pulled the ring from her pocket and show her, "I'll put it on after we tell everyone. You two are the only ones aside from our parents and sister who know," she explained.

"That's so pretty!" Tina smiled, looking at it, "you better put it away," she added, as Finn and Quinn's car pulled up.

Rachel quickly put the ring back in her pocket and let Tina and Mike move further into the house so she could greet Quinn and Finn as they walked up.

...

It didn't take long for the rest of their guests to arrive and once all of them were seated in the living room, Rachel called Kurt and explained she and Noah had an announcement and wanted him to hear it, too, so she put him on speakerphone and while she had done that, Noah had called Artie, telling him the same thing, which took a little more explaining, since Artie didn't even know that Rachel was back in Lima, let alone that she and Noah were dating, but once his confusion was cleared, Noah put him on speakerphone and set it on the coffee table near Rachel's phone with Kurt on it and once the two guys confirmed they could hear okay, Rachel wanted to get onto the news, because she couldn't wait to get her engagement ring back on.

"Okay, so yesterday, Noah and I spent the day together and when we were going to dinner, we bumped into Tina and Mike and ate with them. Towards the end of our meal, I kind of spaced out and some things hit me and though, at the time I played it off like I was just tired, my head was racing with a lot of feelings and emotions. Noah and I left and went to sit in his car and I told him that I realized that my ex had been controlling my life and aside from a few true friends I know I have in New York, you all are my real friends. I know not everyone knows the details, but for about eight months, I was in a relationship with someone who slowly was trying to control my life with who I spent time with and what I did. I caught him cheating on me about a week before I came home to Lima and obviously I broke up with him. Since the day I've been back here, he's been stalking me, showing up at the house, sending me flowers, sending me blocked text messages with pictures of me out with people. Thankfully the last few days, I haven't had an issue with him, but when I told Noah about what I realized, he told me that I need to do what I want to do in my life and," she paused, glancing at him, "I told him what I really wanted was to marry him."

"So after the shock wore off and I figured out she was serious, I said 'yes'," Noah finished with a smile as Rachel pulled the ring from her pocket and slid it into her hand, holding it up for all of them to see.

"We told Arin, Deborah and my dads last night and we wanted you guys to hear it from us, today. That's why we invited you all over so quickly," Rachel added.

"Oh, my God!" "Congratulations!" "You're getting married!" "This is awesome!" "I had a feeling you two were up to something!" Were a few of the shocked expressions said as their guests began to get up and move to the newly engaged couple to see the ring and hug them or shake their hands, and Artie and Kurt, both still on speakerphone, passed on their congratulations as well.

It took some some time, but everyone retook their seats, a shocked happiness filling the room as everyone began asking questions about their plans, but the one that stood out was Matt's comment, "the high school badass' girlfriend proposed to him! This is classic! I can't wait to hear what the guys have to say about this."

Noah expected the comment and shrugged, "and I don't care what they say. I'm not going to hide how it happened and if anyone wants to give me shit about it, I'm man enough to take it. I think it takes a bigger man to admit that his girlfriend proposed to him and I returned the favor earlier this afternoon when we got the rings," he added, "but only because I felt that Rachel deserved to be proposed to," he smiled, "I don't care about the exact details of how the proposal happened, but we are engaged and we love each other. That's the most important part."

"Oh, come on, dude. I'm not going to say anything. There are things should just be kept between friends and this," Matt looked around, "I think is one of them."

Though Noah was adamant that he didn't mind anyone knowing, everyone agreed that the details of the proposal were not their story to tell and if Noah or Rachel wanted anyone to know, they'd be the one to tell them. Once that discussion was settled, Kurt chimed in and asked, "so what are the details? Do you guys know where you're getting married? When are you having it? Who's designing your dress?"

"Five weeks from today," Rachel said, "on January first."

"What?" "Are you crazy?" "Five weeks?" "Are you pregnant?"

Everyone as now sitting down and with the questions and comments their friends were bringing up, Rachel expected most of them, but when someone asked if she was pregnant, she squashed that question, "no, I am not pregnant! I am a virgin and plan to remain one until my wedding night," she said firmly, but then calmed down, "sorry, but I just wanted to be clear. I'm saving that for Noah, when he becomes my husband," she added, looking at him next to her.

Noah smiled and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her lovingly, "it's a very honorable thing to do, baby, and I'm totally willing to go at your pace," he promised.

"Okay, enough sex talk, please," David begged, sitting in the back of the room with Alan and Deborah.

The entire room erupted in laughter, but calmed down and moved onto a more important subject, "so, what kind of help do you guys need for this to happen in five weeks?" Quinn asked from a few spots away.

"As much as we can get, actually. I've never planned a wedding before, and we're going to have a very simple ceremony, touching on a few of the common Jewish traditions, but not make it a complete Jewish ceremony. How much, is going to depend on who we can get to officiate," Rachel explained.

"Rabbi Goodman is expecting your call, because he's available that day," Deborah chimed in from behind them.

Noah turned around, "you already called him?"

"Yes," she smiled, "as soon as you two told us you had set a date, I called him, told him what was going on, penciled you guys in for January first and is waiting on one of you to call and set up a time to come talk to him."

"Thank you," Rachel smiled, "I'll call him tomorrow."

"You're welcome. Remind me to give you his information before we leave," Deborah replied.

"I will," Rachel tugged her note pad out and wrote a note for that, "and Noah and I have an idea for a location," she glanced at him, "do you want to tell them or wait?"

He shrugged, "we can tell them now," he looked at their friends, "we're thinking about having it at McKinley. It's got all the amenities that we'd need for the ceremony and the reception, we wouldn't have to worry about renting furniture and they have dances there all the time, so it can be decorated for the wedding. It's really meaningful for us."

Rachel nodded, "we're going to go talk to Principal Figgins tomorrow to see if we'll be able to and hopefully by tomorrow afternoon we'll have our location," she said.

"I don't see why he wouldn't be okay with it," Will commented. "I mean, school is out at that time, so it's not like you'd have to work around classes or anything."

"That's what we're hoping," Noah replied.

"Hey, Kurt, you still there?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, I am," Kurt said through the phone.

"I was wondering if you'd be able to do my dress," she asked, "I know it's short notice."

"Of course I will!" He exclaimed, "and we need to talk about how I'm going to get your measurements and discuss ideas and I know you don't want anyone to hear the details, so I'm going to go and start working on a few sketches, then I'll text you my e-mail address and we can email, okay?"

"That sounds great, Kurt! Thanks so much," Rachel grinned.

"You're welcome! This is going to be fun. Ta-ta everyone!" He called out.

After everyone said 'bye', even though he didn't know who was there, Kurt hung up and Artie did the same thing, unable to stay longer, because his phone was about to die. Taking a moment from wedding planning, they discussed what types of pizza they wanted and Rachel's dads called in the order, letting them get back to planning.

While they waited for the dinner to arrive, everyone started throwing out ideas and suggestions for plans and Mercedes offered to get Rachel some information that she'd used for her wedding. Tina said she'd help them get a wedding announcement into the Allen County Herald, the county newspaper for Lima, which is also where she worked. Finn added in that he knew his mom, a cake decorator in the biggest bakery in Lima, would do their cake, so Rachel made notes of everything and promised once they could think some things out, they'd start contacting everyone for help.

When the pizza got there, planning came to a stop for the night and they all jumped into dinner, chatting and celebrating the new engagement, but as it got later, and since most everyone had to work the next day, slowly their guests began to say 'goodbye' and went home, leaving the Berrys and Puckermans in the house.

Deborah and Arin stayed a little longer to help them clean up the leftover mess from the get-together and just before they left, Deborah gave Rachel the information to the rabbi and Rachel promised to call him soon.

With a final 'goodnight' to everyone, Deborah and Arin went home, leaving just the Berrys and Noah at the house. David and Alan both had to return to work the next day after a week off for the holiday, so they headed up to bed, giving Rachel and Noah some alone time so they could talk about some of their plans and options.

"I'm so glad that everyone was happy with our engagement. I was really worried that someone was thinking we were rushing things," Rachel admitted.

Noah smirked, "well, we are kind of rushing things, but I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so why wait?" He asked honestly.

Rachel grinned, "I see your point and totally agree," she told him, crawling into his lap to kiss him, "I wanna be with you forever."

"You've got me," he promised, wrapping his arms around her.

She relaxed against him and the two remained together on the couch for a short time, but reluctantly got up and headed to her room, knowing he had to work early the next day.

Once they settled into bed, though her mind was racing with all sorts of plans for their wedding, she fell asleep completely content with how things had turned out. She knew that returning to Lima would be a great thing, but it wasn't until he told her he'd marry her that she realized just how wonderful it was to be home.

...

Waking up, Monday morning, all four people in the Berry's house were awake early. Noah left first, promising that he would make sure he asked to get off early, so he could meet Rachel at McKinley to talk to Figgins about using the school as their venue. Rachel's dads made her promise she would not stress out on wedding plans, and once they were sure she wasn't going to go overload on arrangements, the two left, giving Rachel the house to herself.

Staying up, Rachel showered and then collected her notes from the night before and began to rewrite and organize them, so she had a good idea of what they needed and realized that if they kept everything simple, they'd have plenty of time to get things taken care of.

While she was going through numerous thoughts, she realized she needed to call her four best friends in New York. She hadn't talked to them since the day she returned to Lima and though they knew that she'd found Daniel cheating and had broken up with him, they didn't know anything about what he was doing nor did they know anything about her relationship with Noah, so she'd have a lot of explaining to do, which she needed to do soon, because one of them was a photographer, who had done all of her headshots and he was the only one she trusted to do their wedding photos.

Picking up her phone, she dialed his number and waited for him to answer, "hey Ian!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Oh my God! Rachel, how are you doing? Why haven't you called me?" Ian replied, "I haven't talked to you since you went home!"

Rachel blushed, "well, I have my reasons. Actually that's why I'm calling now," she admitted, "are you sitting down?"

"I can be," Ian sat down on his couch, "what's going on?" At his question, Rachel began to tell him what Daniel had been doing, but he had a feeling she was leaving something out, "okay, so you're avoiding something. What are you not saying?"

"Well, you see. I'm... Do you ever remember me talking about a friend from high school named Noah?" She asked.

"Him? Oh tons of times! Why? Did you hook up with him? What's going on? Give me details!" He grinned.

She giggled at his questions, "well, we're actually getting married on the first of January."

"What?" He exclaimed, "explain!"

Rachel went on to explain just what brought them up to the proposal Saturday night and the announcement to their friends the day before, "and you're the first of my friends in New York I've told, because I was hoping you'd be willing to be our wedding photographer."

"Of course I'll do it, sweetheart! This is amazing! Congratulations. Now, if only I could find a guy like that," he sighed, "but this isn't about me. I'm just so shocked!"

"I think that's the general consensus," Rachel admitted, "but we love each other and it's what we want to do, so everyone is being supportive. Our friends here are helping out and we're going today to figure out a venue. I need to call the girls, so I should probably let you go, but I'll email you more details soon. You may want to wait to make flight arrangements until I tell the girls, so maybe the four of you can come out at the same time."

"That's a good idea. Let me know when you tell them," he told her.

"I will. Talk soon!" She said with a smile, before hanging up.

Ian Chandler was Rachel's age and they had met their Freshman year at NYU when they both took an introductory class on photography. That was his path, and she was only taking it as an elective, but they met and worked on a project together and became best friends, since she was comfortable with him being gay. They've been very close since and now he has a small photography study, where he was starting to do a lot of fashion events, shows and working with models, so he was slowly making a name for himself in town.

Smiling at the memories, she scrolled through her list and found the name to her first New York friend, Tammy King, who was also her first roommate at NYU when they were both Freshmen. Even though they weren't taking the same direction in school, they shared similar interests in music and entertainment, so they became fast friends and they also shared an on-campus apartment their Sophomore and Junior year with two other girls they'd met their Freshman year, identical twins Courtney and Brooke Madison. They were a year older and a year ahead of Rachel and Tammy, but Brooke had taken Rachel and Tammy's English class and when Brooke and her twin sister were looking for roommates for the other two bedrooms in an on-campus apartment they were getting the following year, they invited Rachel and Tammy to join them and their, along with Ian's friendship, grew from there.

Pulling herself back to what she had been doing, she called Tammy, who just happened to be meeting the twins at the usual coffee shop they went to, so she was able to make the announcement to all three of them at the same time. Just like with Ian and everyone else, once the initial shock wore off, they were easily accepting and excited, promising they'd all be there and would contact Ian to start making arrangements to fly to Ohio together.

Rachel told them she felt bad that in the time she'd been home, she'd not talked to any of them, but they all understood, now that they were finding out there was another guy in her life, one they were familiar with, because Noah Puckerman came up in conversations a lot; they knew she always had a thing for him, so the marriage to him was not the shock, it was the timeline.

As she ended the call with her friends, happy that they were just as excited for her wedding as she was, she saw it was noon and still had some time before meeting Noah, but then realized she didn't know if he'd gotten the time off. As she thought that, she remembered she'd gotten a few text messages while she was on the phone, so she looked through them and found they were all from her boyfriend, telling her he could get the time off and would meet her at McKinley at two. Relaxing, she sent a message back to him. "_That's great! See you there! Would have responded sooner, but was on the phone with friends from NYC. Talk soon! Love you!_"

"_I thought you might be. Love you, too. See you at 2,_" he replied a few moments later and Rachel smiled, setting her phone aside to get back to what she had been doing.

With all the notes rewritten and organized, she sat back and began writing down a guest list and smiled. They were going for simple and her list was short. She wrote down all of her family on both Alan and David's side, her four friends from New York, not counting Kurt, and then wrote a list of former McKinley friends or Glee Club members that she knew she wanted there and with that done, all she had to do was get Noah's list and they'd be another step closer to their wedding.

Seeing what time it was getting to be, she touched up her make-up and after leaving a note to let her dads know when she and Noah would be back, she headed to McKinley to meet him.

When she pulled into the parking lot, the feeling changed from 'going back to high school' to 'in just a few weeks I could be getting married here' and the butterflies returned, but as she came to park next to Noah's SUV, she grinned and jumped out of the car, greeting him with a kiss, "hi!" She exclaimed, hugging him.

"Hey baby! You're in a great mood. Have you had sugar today?" He smirked.

She laughed, "nothing other than the little in my coffee this morning, but coming here feels different now," she admitted, "I mean, do you realize that less than five weeks from now, we could be getting married here?"

He smiled and kissed her, "yeah, the thought crossed my mind," he admitted, "it's pretty awesome, isn't it?"

"It is," she nodded, "we should probably go make sure Figgins is here," she added.

"He is. He's waiting on us. I had a few minutes when I got here, so I went in to tell him we wanted to talk to him," he explained.

"Oh, okay, great!" She smiled, "ready?"

"Yeah," he nodded and took her hand as they walked towards the school.

"Where's your belt with your gun on it?" Rachel asked, surprised that he didn't have it on.

"It's safe," he replied, "I'm off duty and I'd rather not wonder around a school with it."

"Oh, right. That makes sense," she agreed, heading into the office. They waved at Figgins and he was just finishing up on the phone and once he was done, the two stepped into his office they both had been in a few times in that past and smiled, "Principal Figgins, it's so nice to see you again," Rachel smiled, shaking his hand.

"You as well, Miss Berry. William told me you're living in New York and then Noah just told me you're visiting for the holidays," he told her.

"Yes, I am. I came back before I start working on another musical production," she explained.

"I see. Welcome home," he smiled, "please, have a seat, both of you," he added, motioning to the seats after shook Noah's hand, "after Noah stopped in a bit ago, I have to admit I'm a bit confused about why you're both asking to see me, so what can I do for you?"

Rachel raised her left hand and smiled, "Noah and I are getting married."

"Congratulations to the two of you," he said with a grin.

"Thank you," Noah replied, taking Rachel's hands, "it's a bit short notice for most weddings, but we plan to get married on New Year's Day, which is five weeks away and we were wondering if we could get married here," Noah explained looking at him.

"At McKinley? Really?" The principal asked in shock.

"Yes," Rachel nodded, "our feelings began here, so the school is special to us."

Figgins smiled, "well, I admit this isn't something that I ever expected, but I don't see why not. School starts back up later in the week and you'd have time before to set up," he explained, "so let's do it. I've never heard of a school being used as a wedding venue, but there's a first time for everything," he said with a smile.

"Really? Just like that?" Noah asked, this time it was their turn to be shocked.

Rachel eyed him, "you don't have to talk to the school board or the superintendent?"

"No. It's my school. I do only have one issue," he said, sitting back in his chair.

"What is that?"

"I would prefer not to have alcohol on school grounds. I assume you want to have both the wedding and the reception here, correct?"

"We would and I'm fine with not having alcohol. I don't drink that often and I'd like to actually remember my wedding," she admitted with a grin.

Noah nodded, "we'll respect that. I'm not much of a drinker any more and if our guests don't like it, they can leave," he added.

"Great! It looks like McKinley is going to have their first wedding," Figgins smiled, "we will have to talk details and location and everything, but for now we'll stick with that," he said handing over a piece of paper with his personal contact information, "I think I can trust this with you guys."

"You can," Rachel nodded, taking and folding it up to put in her bag, "I do have one more question, though."

"What is it?"

"How much? I mean, we're renting the space, so we should be paying you for the time," she admitted.

"It's on me," he smiled, "don't worry about paying. Weddings are expensive, so where you can save, go for it."

Rachel smiled, "thank you so much. This means a lot to us and once we get more plans set and have an idea how many we'll have coming, we'll be able to tell you more. We wanted to make this plan first before anything else, really."

"I understand," Figgins nodded and the three stood up and shook hands.

"Thank you so much, Figgins. We'll be in touch," Noah promised.

The principal nodded and congratulated them again and the couple moved out of the office and headed back to their cars, since school wasn't over yet, "we're getting married, Noah!" Rachel exclaimed, jumping into his arms.

Noah was surprised at her motion, but caught her, hugging her tightly, "we are, baby. Soon you'll be Mrs. Puckerman," he murmured against her lips.

Rachel grinned brightly, "I can't wait!"

"Same here, love," he hugged her, "come on, let's wait for school to get out inside the car, with the heat on," he motioned to his SUV and then guided her to the passenger door and opened it for her.

With a smile she slid in and watched him move around the car and get in himself, then started the engine and turned on the heat, letting the warm air hit them, "I figured we could stay warm while we wait for school to get out and to go into Glee. I also didn't think we should be standing outside. The last thing the bride and groom need is to be sick on their wedding day," he winked at her.

Rachel leaned forward and kissed him, "good point," she agreed, taking his hands in hers, "so I called my friends in New York, at least the four I know are my friends," she told him.

"Really? How did that go," he asked, turning a little to look at her.

"Their reaction was pretty much the same as what everyone here had. Shocked, but acceptance. They," she blushed, "apparently I talked about you a lot, so they knew I had feelings for you," she admitted.

"Oh really?" He grinned, "even after we lost touch?"

"Yeah, even after we did," she replied. "Ian is going to do our wedding photos," she added.

"Who's Ian?" Noah asked, trying not to sound jealous, but he knew that was a guy's name.

"I guess you could call him my college version of Kurt," she grinned, feeling his hands tense up at the mention of the name.

"So he's gay?" He relaxed, trying not to sound too relieved.

"Yes he is. I met him my Freshman year in a photography class and he's a photographer now. Doing very well and he's the only one I'd trust to do our photos. He's done all my headshots," she explained, "so you don't have to be jealous," she added.

Though he wanted to deny that he was jealous, he nodded, "alright," he murmured, "so, he's a good photographer?"

Rachel nodded, "he is. I'll show you my headshots and some of his work when we get back to my dads' place. I have them on my laptop," she told him, "and I'll show you pictures of my friends. Did you tell the guys at work we're getting married?" She asked.

He laughed lightly, "well, Matt did. We were all in the briefing room and after we were told what our assignments were, Matt said he had an announcement and everyone thought he was going to say Mercedes was pregnant, but he says 'Puck's getting' married!' and that kind of started a whole riot, wanting to know about you and everything. I gave them the basic details and that we were getting married on January first, but other than that, we didn't know anything else," he explained, "and my boss pointed something out, and I never really paid too much attention to my teammates hands, but of the ones who are married, none of them wear their wedding rings while on duty."

"What?" Rachel gasped, "but why not? They're married; they should be!"

"Just calm down," Noah smirked, expecting her response, "they wear them on a chain under their shirt," he said, tugging out a chain that had a small Star of David pendant hanging from it, "so it's with them, just not on them. The biggest reason is because we do a lot of raids and we do have gloves on, most of the time, but if we had to grab or reach for something and our ring got caught, it could be dangerous or cause more problems. So my boss pointed that out to them with their rings, and now they all wear them on a chain around their neck and told me the same thing today. He told me it was my choice, but he didn't recommend wearing it, knowing the type of work we do," he explained.

Rachel nodded, thinking about what he said, "so, you're going to wear yours on your chain, right?"

"I was going to talk to you about it, but that's what I'm thinking I'll do. I want to wear it, but he's right. I don't want to lose my finger because my ring got stuck in something," he told her truthfully, "but as soon as I'm off duty, I'll wear it, baby, the only time I'll take it off is when I'm on duty," he promised her.

"I'll be okay with you wearing it around your neck," she said, reaching up to toy with the charm hanging on the chain, "I've never seen this on you before."

"That's because I only wear it when I'm in uniform," he told her, "it's usually in my pocket otherwise. Are you sure you're okay with that plan?" He asked softly.

She nodded, "yes, I am, Noah. I want you to be safe and I understand what you're saying and it's a good idea to wear it under your shirt. It's closer to your heart that way and I know my husband will come home with all ten fingers," she replied, leaning up to kiss him, "so I'm okay with it," she added.

He smiled and kissed her back, "good. Thank you," he murmured, brushing his hand along her cheek.

...

Rachel and Noah stayed in his car for a little longer, waiting for school to get out and they also sent a message to Arin to let her know they were outside in his SUV. When the parking lot began to empty, Arin made her way out to meet them, knocking on the passenger window, so Rachel rolled it down, "hey Arin, how was school?" She asked.

"The usual," Arin shrugged, "so, what did Figgins say?"

"It looks like we're getting married here," Rachel replied with a grin.

"That's awesome! Come on into the school. It's warm in there," she said with a laugh.

The two agreed, so Noah shut his car off and both got out, locking the doors and following Arin into school, "couldn't you have changed before you left work?" Arin asked her brother.

"What? Are you embarrassed?" Noah grinned, draping his arm around her shoulders.

"No, but you stand out like a sore thumb," she commented. "I'm proud that you're a cop, Noah. You know that."

Noah smiled, "I know you are and I did know that, but I know that when I was your age, _if_ I had an older brother who was a cop and he showed up in his police uniform I'd run the other way and would not want to be seen with him," he told her honestly.

Arin laughed, "well, you were a jerk until you met Rachel and joined Glee," she turned to Rachel, "so thank you for snapping my brother out of his teenage rebellion and for getting rid of the mohawk," she added.

Rachel smirked, "you're welcome. I'm glad he got rid of that thing. It was hideous! Now I have more hair to run my hands through, too."

"Hey now," Noah stopped and crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm right here, you know? Don't insult the 'hawk. It was a good part of my life. If I hadn't been a jerk or had it, I may have never joined Glee," he commented honestly.

"He has a point," Rachel admitted, moving in front of him, standing on her tip toes and kissing him, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'm so glad you joined Glee."

Slipping his arms around her body, he pressed his lips to hers and held her close, "me, too, baby, me too."

Arin laughed lightly, "do you two think you can keep your hands off each other long enough, so we can get through Glee with out getting grossed out?"

Rachel blushed and after another kiss, got back on her own feet again and nodded, "yes, we can behave," she promised, adjusting her jacket, taking Noah's hand and guiding them the rest of the way towards the choir room.

...

Walking into the familiar room together, Rachel and Noah went to greet Will, while Arin moved to take her usual seat with some friends. The students recognized Rachel, but other than Arin's few close friends, no one knew who Noah was, but it didn't take long before they figured it out, since the siblings looked as alike as they could for being the opposite gender. They both had same brown hair, the same color eyes and facial features and many of their expressions matched, so no one denied their relationship. Noah's uniform also had 'Puckerman' stitched on one of his shirt's patches, so if the looks didn't clue them in, the name would.

"Rachel, Noah, how are you guys doing?" Will asked when he saw them come into the room.

"We're doing great!" Rachel grinned.

"I take it you talked to Figgins," Will commented, seeing how excited she was.

"We did," Noah agreed, shaking his hand and then slid onto the piano bench.

"He's letting us use the school!" Rachel exclaimed bubbly, clapping her hands.

Will smiled, "that's awesome, guys. Congrats!"

"Thanks," Rachel replied, "now we have a place and a photographer, so it's a start. I just hope we can get everything ready."

"We've got plenty of time," Noah promised her.

She smiled, taking a deep breath and nodded, "yeah, you're right."

...

When Will started the club, he introduced Noah as Arin's brother and a former member of the Glee Club, with Rachel, and the two were now engaged. The teens congratulated them on their engagement and asked a few questions to both of them about their time in Glee and after they answered them, they moved onto practicing for Sectionals.

Noah was proud to see his sister singing lead and clapped for them when they finished their songs. Going through each number a few times, Will was really happy with their vocals and called and end to the club for the day, telling them starting at the next practice they'd be meeting in the auditorium, so they could work on their dances more than they were and after a few kids hung out to ask Rachel and Noah more questions, everyone was on their way out to their cars. Noah and Rachel walked Arin to her car and then went back to their cars in the visitor's parking lot and Noah followed Rachel back to the Berry's house.

Shortly after they got there Arin and Deborah came over and the six of them had dinner together and talked about the guest list for the wedding. After dinner, Rachel showed her dads the list she'd come up with and also showed Noah the list of the Glee members or former friends from school that she thought of to invite and Noah agreed with them, adding a few and then he and his mom and sister came up with a list of their family members to invite and his coworkers and once it was done, they relaxed in the living room for a bit before Arin and Deborah went home for the night and Rachel's dads, Noah and Rachel headed for bed.

"So, I was thinking that we should do red and white for our colors," Rachel told Noah as they crawled into bed.

"Really?" Noah asked surprised, "why? I thought you liked purple and pink."

"I do," she smiled, happy to find out that he knew her favorite colors, "but since we're getting married at McKinley, because it has special meaning to us, I think we should use at least a few of the school colors. Black doesn't really make sense, because it's a wedding, but you get what I mean," she explained.

"Yeah, I do," he nodded, "that's a cool idea. I'm in," he replied, kissing her as they relaxed in bed.

"Great!" Rachel sat up and dashed over to her desk, writing the color plans down in her notes and then joined him back in bed.

"You could have waited until morning," he laughed lightly.

She shrugged and kissed him, "I know, but I just want to make sure that I remember everything. This is important to me."

"It's important to me, too, babe. We won't forget anything and if we do, then it's okay. We'll deal with it," he kissed her and hugged her close, "we're in this together," he promised.

...

Getting her dads and fiancé off to work the next morning, Rachel went back to bed for a few hours and when she got up around ten, she took a shower to wash away the laziness and then sat down at her desk and began going over her notes for the wedding. While she was writing something down, she realized Kurt never sent her his email address, so she called him and he apologized, giving it to her over the phone, "so sorry about that. I got so caught up in the sketches that I fell asleep at my drawing table," Kurt admitted.

Rachel laughed lightly, "it's alright. Are you busy right now?"

"No, but I have a lunch meeting in about an hour," he replied, "who would have thought running your own business was so much work. Now I know why my dad was always at the shop."

"It is tough," Rachel agreed, "but you'll work things out, Kurt. I know you will."

Kurt sighed, "thanks Rachel, but I just don't feel it. It's so expensive for everything here."

Rachel thought for a moment. Kurt had graduated the same time she had, about a year and a half prior, from a fashion college in New York. Since then, he's been struggling to get his designs to the public and maintain customers in his online shop. "Come home then," she suggested, "and I mean come home and start out here. Rent a shop for a quarter of the price and with your friends around helping out, you could have a booming business and still sell things online. Sure New York is where the life is, but it also has a huge price tag and if you're not the best of the best, it's tough to make it. Trust me, I know I'm a great singer and a performer, but there are others just as good as me, so I got my eyes opened a lot once I got to New York. You could come home and save money and probably do better because you have the brain power to do it," she told him honestly.

Listening to what Rachel said, Kurt thought about what she was proposing and though the idea of coming home to Lima wasn't on the top of his list of things to do, it was there, "you know, I thought of that once. Do you really think I could make it?"

"Yes, I do," Rachel nodded.

"Maybe I will come home then. I mean, well, permanently, but I can deal with that later. We have a wedding dress to make," he commented with a grin.

"Let me get into my email and I'll send you my address and you can show me your ideas," she told him, getting her laptop turned on and after a few moments she sent him an email.

Once Kurt got her message, he sent her back the sketches he'd started on her dress and they began talking about styles and she gave him a few measurements that she knew and promised to get the others to him soon. She told him that Figgins was letting them use the school and they'd decided on McKinley Red and white for their colors, so he added that into his notes and when he realized it was getting late, he had to go, but promised to email her some updated sketches when he finished them.

Getting off the phone with Kurt, Rachel went back to her notes and when she got hungry, she went downstairs to get something for lunch and returned to her room, a thousand things running through her head. "_Rachel, Noah is right. We'll get everything taken care of,_" she told herself, "_maybe you should pamper yourself for a few minutes. Put some lotion on and relax._"

Reaching for her bottle of orange scented lotion, she slipped off her engagement ring and set it on her nightstand, then squeezed a little bit of the lotion out on her hands started rubbing the lotion into her hands and arms. She loved the smell, and it had a soothing effect on her, so she stretched on on the bed and let her eyes close to relax for a moment, but as she did she heard the doorbell ring. "_Who's that?_" She wondered, getting up and stretching her arms a little.

Glancing in the mirror to make sure she was presentable, she headed down the stairs, just as whoever it was knocked. "I'm coming," Rachel said opening the door, "hello, can I..." As soon as her eyes landed on the man standing on their porch, she gasped, "you're not supposed to be here," she snapped, stepping back and trying to close the door.

"Is that anyway to treat your boyfriend?" Daniel hissed, stepping forward and slipping his foot between the door and the frame, so she couldn't close it.

"You're not my anything! Get out!" She exclaimed, trying to force the door closed, even though she knew his foot was blocking it. Hearing an odd click, she looked up, just as he held a gun up to her, "I think you might want to let me in, Rachel."

...

A/N7: Remember: due to the nature of what will be in the next few chapters, the rating for this fic will go up to 'M / R', so make sure you have it on your alerts so you continue to get updates.

A/N8: I hope you enjoyed! I promise I have not abandoned you! It's been a long few months. When I last updated my fics, in late-May to early-June, I was doing okay, but my medical issues flared up and in mid-June other things were added to my plate. Since it's the summer, it's road-trip season for me, so I've been hanging out with my friends and am also trying to get my business up and running to sell my crafts, my mom is out of school and we have a lot of things around the house we're trying to do, going places with her and taking her to Seattle for her cancer check-ups (she's still cancer free! Yay!) so my time online has been limited. All of this has built up, so I usually only have the energy to email and hang out on Tumblr. I just went to the doctor and am working on getting some of these things straightened out, so I'm getting there. Just bare with me, please. I promise I will get to reviews and fics when I can, but it may be a while. I love you all and thank you so much for your support and for reading my fics! Don't forget, aside from my few WIPs, I also have several complete fics that you could read.

A/N9: There is a 'Puckleberry Awards' going on at LiveJournal - here's the link to the nomination post - ( prfanficawards . livejournal . com / 789 . html ). They have numerous categories and you can vote for up to 3 fics per category. Originally the nominations would only be until July 15th, but they have been extended to July 31st. There are a ton of Puckleberry fics and authors out there and I'm not sure who knows about this (I heard about it on Tumblr) and I'm letting you all know. You have to be a member of LiveJournal to comment and all you guys have to do is copy and paste the nomination 'form' into a comment on that link above and type in the names of the fics and authors information (links to fics of some kind) and submit it. You can also post the form in the 'askbox' on the Tumblr for the awards, but you have to be a member of Tumblr. If you are not a member of either, I think you can email it, but I'm not 100% on that one, but I'm sure you could contact the creator and ask. There is only one 'WIP' category, so 'Out of the Blue', 'Starlight', 'Broken Road' and 'Returning Home' only fit into that category, but remember, I have several complete fics you can nominate (if you'd like): 'Fly Me To The Moon', 'Became The Summer', 'Leave Out All The Rest', 'Paper and 'Gotta Start Somewhere' and I'm SapphireEJ on FF and SapphiresFic on LJ - the more information you give them, the easier it is for the people doing the awards to find the fics. Don't feel obligated to nominate me, but if you'd like to, that'd be awesome.

...


	10. Chapter 10  RATING 'M' DUE TO CONTENT

Title: Broken Road, Part 10/?

**Rating: M/R**

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

...

**WARNING:** Chapter 10, 11 and 12 contain some content considered a rating of 'M/R', but the story as a whole is 'T/PG-13', which is why FanFiction dot net's rating is still 'T'. I didn't want to hide a 'T/PG-13' story behind an 'M/R' rating for just three chapters, and have added a similar note to the beginning of each chapter from here on out, just as a reminder.

...

Rachel's eyes widened as she stared at the gun, "I... You..." With the gun pointed at her, she realized she should do what he said, or he may try to use it, so she reluctantly gave in and released her hold on the door.

"That's great. You're learning already," he smiled, moving inside and closing the door behind him, dropping a bag on the floor.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked backing away from him, stopping only when her back was against the wall.

Daniel moved towards her and pressed the barrel of the gun to her cheek, then ran it down her chest to press against bare skin just below her chin, "because you're mine and I'm going to make sure you stay that way."

She took a deep breath and tried to remain calm, but feeling the ice cold metal against her skin, she began to panic, "_okay, just... just try to slip into the kitchen... you can get a knife... maybe that will slow him down so you can run to the neighbors,_" she thought, glancing to her left and saw the hallway to the kitchen was close by, "so... you're going to kill me?" She asked shakily.

"Nah, what would the fun in that be?" He smirked, his hand reaching out to touch her cheek and followed the same path the gun had just taken, then brushed his hand over her cloth-covered breast, "I'm going to take what you should have given me a long time ago, and then we're going to leave this place. I'll make sure no one ever hears from you again."

"They'll find us," she murmured, shifting to her left, away from his hands, "don't touch me," she begged, trying to get further away.

Daniel held the gun up in front of her face and laughed, "I have a gun remember? I'm also not afraid to use it. I could shoot you in the knee and then you'll never dance again, but you'll still be able to spread your legs for me," he smiled, "because I can't wait to have sex with you."

"I'll never sleep with you!" She exclaimed, slipping past him and rushing into the kitchen. Seeing the glass vases from the deliveries he'd sent on one of the far counters; her dads had saved them because they were filling up the garbage too fast and they had planned to get rid of them later; she moved to them and threw two on the floor, hoping that he'd slip on the broken glass. Satisfied, she rushed over to the butcher's block and grabbed the largest knife she could find and held it up in defense.

"Do you think some glass is going to stop me?" He crunched right through the clear material and stepped into the kitchen, laughing harder as he held out the gun, "I'll shoot you before you even get that knife near me, so why don't you just drop it and come with me."

"No!" Rachel dashed through the other kitchen entrance, into the dinning room and knocked over a few chairs, hoping that would keep him busy before going into the living room, planning to run to the door.

Daniel expected her to go that way, so he went around the other way and came up behind her, wrapping his left arm around her chest while his right hand held the gun to her head, "drop the knife. I'm not leaving without you."

Feeling his tight grip around her, Rachel choked back a sob, knowing he was stronger and had the power from the gun, so she lowered her arm and dropped the knife at their feet, "don't hurt me," she begged, feeling tears fall from her eyes, "please."

"Oh, I'll never _hurt_ you, but I think you like a little pain," he grinned pressing a kiss to her cheek, before guiding them back towards the door, "don't try any funny shit," he snapped, holding the gun towards her as he pushed her against the door.

Rachel gasped at the force, but with her back pressed against it, she didn't fall to the floor. Watching him dig through his bag for something, he pulled out plastic zip ties and realized he was going to tie her hands together. Blinking her eyes as more tears fell, she stumbled forward when he pulled one of her hands towards him, "don't hurt me," she begged.

Daniel rolled his eyes, "don't try anything," he snapped, sliding the gun under his jeans, so he could use both hands and wrapped a plastic tie around her wrist and tightened it, showing her it couldn't be undone. He slipped another tie under that one and pulled her other wrist up, wrapping the tie around it, successfully binding her hands together, but he wasn't done. Kneeling down, he pulled out a roll of silver duct tape and began wrapping it around her wrists, not caring that it might hurt; he just wanted to make sure she couldn't pull her hands apart.

Watching him wrap the tape around her wrists, she felt more tears fall, "_he's been planning this for a while. I bet that's why he never sent me flowers or did anything after Thanksgiving. He was getting ready to do this... Oh no!_" She silently gasped, trying to feel for her engagement ring. Glancing down at her hand, she realized it wasn't there, "_where is it? Where did I... Oh! I left it in my room. I took it off to put lotion on and then he showed up and I forgot to put it back on! I know I should have it on, but if he saw it, he'd be even more pissed._"

"There we go, all done," he'd gone around her wrists numerous times to keep her hands secure and then zipped up the bag he'd brought and stood up. Going to the closet he grabbed one of her sweaters and threw it over her hands to cover up her bindings, "say 'goodbye', because this is the last time you'll ever see this place."

Glancing around the house, she bit her lip, "_he won't get away with this. They'll find me. Noah will find me,_" she thought to herself, but made him think she believed him.

Opening the front door, he held it open, "ladies first," he smirked, "but just remember. No crazy shit, because I will not hesitate to shoot you," he reminded her.

Rachel bit her lip, stepping outside, "_I will not let him win!_"

Daniel followed her, closing the door behind him, then guided her out to an older car, and pulled open one of the back doors, "get in," he snapped.

Taking a deep breath, she glanced around outside, hoping to see someone, but with the cooler temperatures, no one was around, so she sighed and slid into the car. He guided her to sit in the middle and after a few moments of shuffling, he'd buckled the seatbelt around her and tightened it so she couldn't really move around. Dropping his bag onto the floor next to her, he closed the door and moved into the front of the car, getting into the driver's seat and as he shut the door, he started the engine, casually adjusting himself, like nothing was wrong, "well baby, we're off to our hotel and tonight you're going to give me what I want, then we're going to leave," he explained, hitting the child-proof lock, so the back doors and windows couldn't be opened.

"You won't get away with this," Rachel said, turning to look away from him.

He reached back and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him, "yes I will. No one cares about you. You're too demanding. No one will miss you. And once I make sure I take your virginity, I'll own you," he told her forcibly, pushing her away and turning around to shift the car into reverse and back out of her driveway.

"People care about me! They'll miss me!" She snapped at him, trying to fight the tears that were falling, but she gave in and let the sobs flow out, her shoulders shaking as she cried.

Daniel ignored her as began his drive through town and Rachel tried to keep from looking at him, but paying attention to where they were going, but with her tears and her mind running a mile a minute, everything was a blur. Lifting up her hands, she used the sweater that was hanging over them to wipe her eyes, but as her nose neared the fabric, she immediately smelled not only her dads' cologne, but also Noah's, which made her cry even more and hug the item close to her, holding onto what could be the last time she smelled the three men who love her, "_no, Rachel, stop it! They'll find you. Noah, dad and daddy will be back at the house and see the mess and know something happened._" She looked up again and saw him driving towards the outskirts of town, near the interstate and then pulled into a parking lot right next to the on-ramps.

They were in a part of town that local Lima residents didn't go to often; it was more for the vacationers and the truckers who needed a quick place to stay along the interstate, with a bit of food nearby, so they weren't driving around a strange city looking for things. He drove around and parked at the side of the hotel, near some rooms, "we're here," he smiled, turning off the engine and unlocking the doors.

Looking around, she saw they were in a back area of the hotel, away from the main traffic and moments later, he opened the back door and reached in to collect his bag, unbuckling her seat belt. Watching him, she tried to stay neutral, but seeing the gun tucked into his pants, she got a rush of anger, "fuck you," she snapped.

Daniel reacted by grabbing her ponytail and pulling her head back, forcing her to look at him, "someone's got a little attitude problem, doesn't she?" He pulled the gun from his pants and ran it along her chest, "that's no way to treat your boyfriend. Do I need to remind you who's in charge?"

She bit her lip and as he pressed the gun against her cheek again, "_smooth move, Rachel,_" she thought, then gave in, "you are," she murmured.

"Ah, good, you remembered. Don't forget it," he let her go, "get out of the car and go over to '73', _now_," he hissed, stepping aside.

Rachel inched her way out of the backseat and fumbled a little without the use of her hands, but managed to stand up on the pavement and looked around, surveying her surroundings. She noticed he was digging for something in his bag, so she carefully stepped away and as she got further from him, her feet sped up and she silently took off in the direction of the front of the building, hoping to find the office or someone walking around.

"I knew you'd run," Daniel called out, chasing after her. He let her get a few feet away before he began to chase her and it only took a few moments to catch up with her, throwing his arms around her body and pulling her close to him, lifting her off the ground.

"Let go of me!" She screamed, "help me! Someone help!" She exclaimed, hoping someone would hear her, but before she could get anything else out, something slammed over her mouth and she realized he'd brought a piece of tape with him, covering her mouth, but it didn't stop her from screaming.

Daniel glanced around and didn't see anyone, so he smiled, "no one can ear you. Look at the parking lot. It's empty. No one is here. Why do you think I picked this place? You've got a loud interstate right next door and it's an off season for travelers." He kissed her cheek as he walked them back to his car and put her feet back down on the ground, so he could lean her over the trunk of the car, "now, do I need to remind you who's in charge?" He asked again, grinding his body against her.

Rachel choked out a sob and squirmed, trying to get away from him, but with his body pressing against her, she knew there was no way she could over power him, so she shook her head and tried to say 'no', but it came out as a garbled mess.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." He smirked and pulled her to a standing position. With one hand on her shoulder, he grabbed his bag, closed the car door and guided her over to his room. Using his key to unlock the door, he pushed it open and shoved her inside, following her in. Shutting and then locking the door knob, deadbolt and chain behind him, he smirked, "welcome home," he said, flipping on the light and dropping his bag on the small table by the window.

Looking around, Rachel saw a kitchenette with a small sink and counter, a microwave, small fridge and a few cupboards, no doubt holding cookware and plates from decades earlier. The room had two beds, separated by a small nightstand with a phone, phone book and lamp. As she studied the beds, she saw one that was typical of a hotel; old bedding, crisp white sheets and two pillows, but the other bed had brown silk bedding all over it from sheets to a heavy comforter and multiple pillows.

Moving behind her, he slid his arms around her, "do you like it? It's yours. I figured you'd want your first time on something besides hotel bedding, so I did this for you," he guided them over to the bed and pushed her down, "here, I bet you'll be more comfortable once you sit down."

Rachel took a seat on the edge of the bed, but remained stiff, not having any interest in getting comfortable on sheets she hated. She lifted her hands to him, hoping he'd do something, because the tape was starting to get uncomfortable.

"I'm not freeing your hands," he laughed, taking her sweater off of them and tossed it to the table, "lay back," he said, motioning to the bed. Watching her shake her head, he pointed to the pillows, "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. Lay back on those pillows, now!"

Jumping in shock at his louder voice, she reluctantly laid back and before she could shift herself, he was doing it for her, picking her up and putting her where he wanted her; right in the middle. Lifting her bound hands above her head, he pulled out a piece of rope he'd had hiding there and wrapped it around her bound hands. "No! Please don't," she tried to scream, but again, her words were all jumbled up. Attempting to pull her hands away, only made it worse, because he pulled the rope tighter until her hands were flush with the headboard.

"Well, I was going to let you have some room to move, but if you're just going to try and get free, that won't work," he told her, letting one hand trail down her body to her waist, "this is going to be so fun," he added, "I've been planning this since you came back here," he explained.

"_I knew it!_" She thought, trying not to struggle too much, because she knew it'd piss him off even more.

"Now that you're all settled," he crawled up on top of her, staring down at her, "I'm going to go get dinner and let you nap. You're going to need your strength for what I've got planned," he said, pressing a kiss to her tape covered mouth, "be back later."

She turned her head away from him, until he crawled off the bed and then watched as he pulled the curtains together, "oh and if you get free; which I know you won't, but if you happen to... Don't bother trying to use the phone. I cut the cord," he explained as he grabbed his keys and unlocked the door, turned off the light and left the room, plunging it into darkness.

Though Rachel had calmed down some since she'd been in his car, once she was alone, her emotions surfaced again and her sobs returned, her whole body shaking as she cried. Her sobbing got worse when she didn't have any success getting her hands or mouth free and gave up, settling to just pray and hope someone would find her before he went through with his plan.

...

David, a psychologist at one of Lima's psychology centers, was off earlier than normal; his last patient of the day had called to cancel, so he was able to go home early. Pulling into their driveway, he headed up to the house and noticed the front door was ajar, like someone had shut it, but it didn't latch, "_that's odd,_" he thought, pushing the door open with his hand, "Rachel? Are you home, sweetheart?" He called out, glancing outside to see her rental car still in the spot it had been when he'd left that morning.

Hanging his keys on the hook by the door, he shut it and headed for the kitchen, freezing when he saw the broken glass all over the floor, "what in the world?" He gasped, carefully stepping over it and didn't see Rachel anywhere. Glancing into the dinning room, he saw the knocked over chairs, so he went around the other way and found one of their knives on the carpet, "Rachel!" He called out, rushing up to her room, "Rachel?" He looked around didn't see any sign that she was there. Her cell phone was sitting on the desk with her notes, her laptop was open, her bathroom was empty and a sick feeling hit him, "oh no!" He fumbled through his pockets and dug out his cell phone, dialing Alan first and when he answered he skipped the greetings and went with, "have you talked to Rachel today?"

"Not since I left this morning, why?" Alan asked.

David took a deep breath, explaining what he found when he got home and added, "I think Daniel came by and took her."

"Fuck," Alan hissed, jumping up, "I'm on my way home. Call Noah. Get the police involved," he said quickly. "Did you touch anything?"

"No I didn't; other than opening the door. I'll call Noah now. Hard telling how long she's been gone," David said.

"Alright, I'll be home in twenty minutes," Alan told him.

"Okay," David nodded and hung up with him. Though he didn't want to make _that_ call, he pulled up Noah's number and dialed him. After a second ring, he answered, so he started with, "Noah, you're not driving are you?"

"No, Matt is, why?" Noah replied, "what's up?"

"I know I shouldn't be calling you officially, but you need to know and well, it's..." David closed his eyes, "I think Rachel's been abducted," he said softly.

Noah's mouth fell open in shock and he turned to Matt, "get to the Berry's now," he snapped.

Matt hesitated and when he saw the look in Noah's eyes, he flipped on the lights and sirens and drove as fast as he could to the house.

"Okay, tell me what's going on," Noah begged, trying to keep calm.

David told him the same thing he'd just told Alan and Noah promised they were on their way and when he hung up, he called their boss and gave them the address and told them what was going on. His boss, the leader of their SWAT team, agreed that the situation called for it to be reported and promised to do that and would meet them at the Berry's shortly.

Pulling up to the house, while Matt called in to report they had arrived, Noah rushed up to the house to find David standing on the front porch, "Noah, I think you should let Matt do this. You can't be impartial," he said softly.

"Yeah, well, I'm a cop. I know what I can and can't do. Besides, my prints are all over the house anyway," he added.

Matt joined them, "Lieutenant Cross is about ten minutes away. He wants to know how sure we are it's Daniel," Matt said.

Noah looked at him like he'd lost his mind, "who else would it be?" Noah turned to David, "is anything missing? Like stolen?"

"No," David shook his head, "everything is untouched except the knife, the dinning room chairs, and the glass, which is two of the four vases that Daniel sent Rachel flowers with," he added.

"I told him I was definitely sure it's Daniel. It's too coincidental that it isn't," Matt added, "David, why don't you walk us through what you did when you came home?"

David nodded and showed them how the door was ajar and then moved into the house, pointing out the glass, the chairs and where he found the knife and while Noah and Matt listened, Alan showed up, "guys!"

"Don't touch anything right now," Matt said softly.

Alan nodded and joined them in the living room, away from the knife's spot on the floor, "what happened?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Noah murmured, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Rachel hasn't had any issues with him since when?" Matt asked.

"Daniel sent her flowers Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. That's the last we know of her having any thing from him," David explained.

"Wednesday was it," Noah confirmed as he saw their boss' SUV pull up and he and his partner got out, so Noah moved towards the open door and greeted them, "thanks for coming guys."

"No, problem," his boss, Lieutenant Andy Cross said, "what's going on?"

"We're still trying to figure that out," Noah admitted, moving inside and introducing Alan and David to him, "these are Rachel's dads. David is the one who came home first and has confirmed that aside from the few things ajar, everything is normal," Noah told him.

Andy shook their hands, "I'm sorry we're not meeting on better terms. Let's see if we can figure out what happened and find out where she is."

"Please," Alan nodded.

Pointing out the few issues, the guys met back up in the living room, "I think he showed up during the day, knowing she would be the only one home and pushed his way inside. She slipped away, broke the glass, probably to try and stop him, then grabbed a knife for defense and took off to the dinning room, knocking over the chairs to give her a chance to get away."

"Then why is the knife on the floor in the living room?" Noah asked.

"He came back around and caught her, over powering her," Andy replied.

"Rachel could have taken him. I mean, I know she's small, but all those dance moves, she couldn't fight him?" Matt asked curiously.

"Do you think he had a gun?" Andy asked, looking at them, "did he have one when he showed up here before?"

"No, but he could have easily gotten one after that," Noah hand's balled into fists, "so help me if he touches her, I will... Ugh!" Noah snapped, huffing in frustration.

"Puckerman settle down. We'll find her. If you don't keep your cool I'll pull you off this investigation," Andy replied.

"Not a chance in hell I'm letting you guys do this without me," Noah told him.

"Then you gotta chill out and do this by the book. Step-by-step, okay?"

Noah glared at him, but nodded, "fine," he muttered, plopping down on one of the couches.

"Okay, you said that you guys kept the order receipt for some of the flowers he sent, and Rachel had said it was his address in New York?" Andy asked.

David nodded and Alan went to get them, along with the pictures of the flowers they'd taken, "here's the first receipt."

Andy looked at it and smiled, "he paid with a credit card," he smiled, "this guy is not very bright," he admitted, then stepped away, calling the information into the office, "I'm going to have them run a check on his credit cards and see if anything shows up. If he did this by credit card," he held up the receipt, "I bet he rented a car with one, too. If Betsy, at the station, finds anything she'll let us know," he promised.

"So we just sit and wait?" Noah asked.

"Unfortunately, yeah," Andy replied.

"This is my fiancée we're talking about! I can't just sit back and wait! He could be," Noah stopped, not wanting to think that way, "I need to find her!"

"Puckerman, if he's holding her hostage, I'll give you the first shot at talking him down from whatever idea he has, but we have to do this the right away. If we go doing stupid things, we could not only mess up finding her, she could get hurt because of it," Andy told him.

"I know," Noah replied, "I just feel so helpless."

David moved over to Noah and sat down next to him, "we all do," he replied, resting his hand on his shoulder.

...

Waiting for answers seemed to take forever, but in reality it only took about fifteen minutes and Noah's boss' radio beeped, "Lieutenant Cross, I have some information," Betsy told him.

"Go ahead," Andy replied.

"I ran Daniel Simon's credit card and I found that he rented a car from the Columbus airport on Saturday. I got the name of the rental company and I checked their records. He's driving a black Honda Accord, Ohio license plate BKR267," she responded.

"Okay, I want you to put an APB (all point's bulletin) out on that car with his license photo and see if we can find it it."

"Already done, sir, but I also found something else out," she told him.

"What is it?"

"According to what I pulled up about this car company, it says that all cars are equipped with a GPS tracking system so they can monitor the usage of the car and the renters don't have to keep track of their mileage or anything like that. I contacted them and they were able to activate the GPS and gave me it's location. I pulled it up and it's currently parked at the 'Motel 6' right off the interstate here in Lima and he used this credit card to pay the deposit for the room."

Noah jumped up and headed for the door.

"Freeze Puckerman!" Andy called out, thanking Betsy for the work she'd done.

"Sir! I've gotta go!" Noah replied.

"You and Rutherford stay here until the crime scene investigator arrives to get pictures. When they arrive, you two can come meet us at the hotel."

"Sir, please, we'll go and check it out. We'll confirm that they're there and we'll wait for you guys to get there, please! I need to know she's okay!" Noah begged, not caring if he sounded like a ten year old.

"Let 'em go boss. They're good officers. They know the rules," Andy's partner commented.

Andy agreed with what his partner said, even if he was skeptical they could keep a level head, "alright, but I want to know what's going on. I know you two are good officers, so let's keep it that way," he warned.

Matt nodded and joined Noah by the door, "we'll do it by the book," Matt promised.

Noah turned to Alan and David, "I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to Rachel and though this happened, I'm not going to let him hurt her. I _will_ bring her home."

"We know you will," Alan smiled at him.

"Just be careful so you guys don't get hurt," David added.

"We will be," Matt replied, patting Noah on the shoulder, "come on, man. Let's go."

...

Rachel continued to pull and tug at her bindings while Daniel was gone, but no matter what angle she tried, the ropes, tape and zip ties didn't budge; she even rolled to her side, but with the way her hands were bound above her head, she couldn't move them far, "_it's useless!_" She yelled in her mind, sobs hitting her body again when she realized just how far he was going to go, "_he's going to rape me and there isn't going to be anything I can do to stop it,_" she thought, still trying to get the tape off of her mouth. "_Please Noah, dad, daddy! Someone find me! Please realize I'm missing!_" She sobbed, burying her head in the pillow.

She didn't know how long she cried, but when she heard the key in the door, she froze and then quickly rolled onto her back, afraid he'd get mad if he found she'd moved.

Daniel pushed the door open and stepped inside, flipping on the light and shutting the door quickly. Setting his items on the table, he secured the door locks and turned around, his eyes landing on Rachel, "hey, I'm back, Sarah, did you miss me?" He grinned and moved towards her, "yeah, that's right. I'm getting your name changed, too. Sarah Simon. It has such a better sound than Rachel Simon," he told her, taking a seat on the bed next to her and brushing a hand over her cheek, then leaned down and kissed it, "if I could trust you to keep quiet, I'd remove that, but I don't think we're there yet."

Rachel turned her head away from him and tried to keep calm, not wanting to let him see her break.

"Suit yourself," he shrugged and got up, moving towards the bag of things he'd just purchased. "I got us some dinner and an after-sex snack," he smirked, "well, actually," he moved back over to her, his hand resting on her shirt covered breast, "it's more like after-rape, since you really don't want to give it to me, do you?" He asked with a grin. She tried to shift her body away from him, but as soon as she attempted it, his hand pressed firmer on her chest to keep her still, "answer me! Do you want to have sex with me?"

She shook her head 'no' numerous times and choked back a sob, trying to wiggle free of his strength.

"I didn't think so," he smirked, moving away again, "oh well. It'll be more fun with you struggling anyway."

"_No! This can't be happening!_" Rachel sobbed, turning on her side again, so she didn't have to look at him, "_please Noah, find me! I want you to be my first time._"

Daniel moved around the room for a moment, putting his purchases away and sticking something into the microwave, before taking a seat next to Rachel on the bed and forcing her to turn over onto her back, "you know, it wouldn't have had to come to this if you hadn't been so full of yourself. You think your virginity is something special. It's not," he admitted. "I've got it all planned out. We'll leave in the morning and drive all day. I'm thinking we should head to Montana. No one will know us there and by the time we get there, everyone here will be thinking you're dead, so we'll have no problem changing your name," he grinned, his hands resting on her hips and then slowly moved them up to her breasts, "is it getting hot in here?" He asked casually, pulling out a knife from his pocket, "let's get this shirt off you and I can have a better view of my girlfriend," he commented, as if she wasn't even there.

"No! Don't! Please!" Rachel screamed as her eyes widened in shock, even though it sounded muffled while she tried to squirm away from him.

Ignoring her protests, Danial grabbed her shirt and opened the knife, running the metal through the fabric like butter and in just a few cuts her shirt and it's sleeves were cut away from her skin. Smiling, he reached for her bra and did the same thing, cutting the straps and the center of the bra, "almost done, Sarah," he told her, pulling the now ruined fabric out from under her and tossing what was left of her shirt and bra to the floor, leaving her entire upper body exposed to him.

She couldn't help the sobs that came, begging behind the tape for him to leave her alone and tried turning away from him, the only way she really had to protect herself, but it didn't last long; as soon as he put the knife away, he grabbed her by the hips and forced her onto her back, "don't move," he hissed, "I want to look at you."

Watching him walk back to the kitchen area, her sobs continued as she struggled to get free, but stayed on her back, so he could 'see' her. Part of her was glad that her mouth was taped shut, because she had a ton of things to scream and all of them would be cuss words or insults; something that would make her fiancé proud.

"You know, watching you struggle makes your breasts move; it's quite a turn on, Sarah," he commented as he took a seat at the table.

Hearing what he said, Rachel stopped, not wanting to give him any kind of show and closed her eyes, continuing to hope for help to arrive. A few moments passed and she was trying to calm down, when her thoughts were interrupted by a strong knocking on the door. Opening her eyes quickly, she stared at the door hopeful, "_please be Noah!_"

Daniel got up and moved towards her, "do not make a sound!" He hissed quietly at her as the knocking started again. Walking towards the door, he shot a cold glance at her and then unlocked it, pulling it open as far as the chain on it would allow. On the other side, he found an African American police officer, "can I help you, officer?"

"Sorry to bother you, sir, but I was wondering if you had happened to see a young woman, mid-twenties with brown hair around here?"

"Nah, I haven't seen anyone," he said to him casually, "I've been in here all day."

Rachel was briefly saddened when it wasn't her fiancé, but she still was happy, because she quickly recognized Matt's voice. Without hesitation, she began screaming through the tape, hoping he'd hear something from the muffled sounds.

"What's that?" Matt asked.

"Oh, sorry, watchin' TV," Daniel replied.

"Alright, well, if you see anything, please call '911'. Sorry to bother you," Matt said, stepping away from the door.

Daniel closed the door and locked the latches quickly, rushing over to Rachel and slapping her hard across the face, "what the fuck did I tell you about staying quiet? You fuckin' little bitch," he pulled the gun out from where he had it tucked in the back of his pants and pressed it to her temple, "one pull of the trigger and you're gone. Do you want that?"

Rachel gasped and shook her head 'no' several times as her fear grew and she tried to inch away from him, but he pulled her back to him, trailing the gun down to her chest and brushing it across her exposed skin, "maybe we should speed this up a bit before the cops come back," he added.

"No! Please!" She screamed, even though it didn't sound like what she wanted it to, settling to just keep shaking her head 'no' and trying to pull away from him.

"Shut up!" Daniel yelled loudly, his voice echoing through the room.

Startled by his voice, Rachel froze and looked at him, seeing he was beginning to get frustrated with her, so she tried to calm down, knowing if he got any more pissed, he may use the gun and she didn't want him to.

...

Noah and Matt were just outside the room, down a few feet from the window, waiting for backup. Both of the officers knew it was Daniel by his picture and Noah confirmed it when he heard his voice, so they were waiting for their boss to show up and Noah was having a hard time being so close, yet unable to do anything, and when he heard Daniel yell 'shut up', his anger flared and he rushed to the door, pounding on it and trying to open it, but it was locked, "Daniel! Open this fuckin' door right now! I know you've got Rachel in there! I swear to God, you son of a bitch, if you hurt her, I'll make sure you rot in hell!" He exclaimed, "Rachel, I'm here, baby. I'm gonna get you out of this, I promise!"

Matt didn't expect Noah's words to work and just as he glanced at the window, he saw the barrel of a gun stick out, as if Daniel was using the gun to peek outside. Getting a sick feeling in his stomach, Matt lunged at his friend and partner, tackling him to the ground just as Daniel began shooting through the door, right where Noah had been standing.

...

A/N7: Sorry for another cliffhanger. I didn't mean to leave you guys hanging this long. I really thought I'd be able to update sooner, but I have had some personal things going on that I've been dealing with, so it took longer to get things written and edited. Out of the Blue and Starlight will be a while for updates. I don't have anything written on them yet, but I hope too soon... I feel horrible, guys. I don't get a lot of reviews when I do update and sadly, I know I've lost readers. Please review if you can to let me know you still like the story. Those who do review, I appreciate it so much. Your reviews help me out a lot!

Myself, and my fics: 'Out of the Blue', 'Starlight', 'Leave Out All The Rest' and 'Fly Me To The Moon' have been nominated in the Puckleberry Awards on LJ and Tumblr. Thank you all so much! Love you all! When I know about voting, I'll let you know!

I'd like to share my crafts with my awesome readers. Is anyone interested in friendship bracelets? I will be setting up my Etsy shop here soon, but for now, I'm selling my crafts word of mouth and one of them is a wave bracelet like Mark Salling's. The bracelet I'm talking about is the black, red, yellow and green one he wears almost all the time. I figured out how to make it and I posted a picture of one in similar colors here: ( ej8302 . tumblr . com / post / 8288256823 ). Yes, I know the meaning of his bracelet colors (I will let you know about them if you'd like one). I can make the bracelets in any color (3-5 colors/bracelet work the best). Here ( ej8302 . tumblr . com / post / 7752014106 ) on my tumblr is another color version. When you buy a wave bracelet, you'll get a matching spiral or 'Chinese Staircase' bracelet in up to 4 colors. Don't feel obligated, just throwing this out there. Let me know if you're interested.

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	11. Chapter 11  RATING 'M' DUE TO CONTENT

Title: Broken Road, Part 11/?

**Rating: M/R**

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

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A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

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**Reminder:** The rating of this story as a whole is 'T/PG-13'. Only chapters 10-12 are considered a rating of 'M/R' due to content.

...

Hearing Noah's voice, relief washed over Rachel, but watching Daniel rush over to the window with the gun in his hand, she began screaming again, afraid he'd use it on him. Panic filled her mind when he moved to stand behind the door and held the gun up to it, squeezing the trigger and shooting through the door, right where her fiancé would be standing. "_No! Please don't! Oh, Noah! No! Noah, please be okay! Please!_" She thought, sobbing and trying to turn away from Daniel, who was coming towards her.

Daniel forcibly rolled her onto her back again and this time, crawled on top of her, straddling her hips and holding the gun against her chest, "that should get rid of him. Now we have time to ourselves," he murmured.

Rachel tugged at her bindings and tried to squirm away from him, unable to stop crying as her ears continued to ache from the gunshots, still echoing in her mind.

"It's no use, Sarah. He's probably dead. Now you're all mine," he told her, "and I'm really gonna enjoy this."

Terrified at his words, she continued to squirm, refusing to let him get what he wanted. Hearing sirens outside, getting closer to their room, Rachel knew that more help had arrived, "_please let Noah be okay, please!_" She prayed, turning her head away from Daniel and wishing she could see outside, but the curtains blocked her view.

...

Matt rolled off Noah's back, but waited until he was sure Daniel had stopped firing before standing up and helping Noah stand. "Dude, are you okay? Are you hit?" Matt asked, looking him over.

"Damn it!" Noah exclaimed, clenching his fists together and ignoring Matt's questions, "I should have just broken the fucking door down!" Knowing for sure that Daniel had a gun scared the crap out of him; his fiancée was in there with a crazy ex-boyfriend and a gun.

Matt expected the outburst and rested his hands on Noah's shoulders, "no you shouldn't have. What if you'd gone in there and he had shot you? Would you really want Rachel to watch you get shot?"

At Matt's question, Noah thought for a moment, "no, I wouldn't," he sighed.

"Then relax and let us do our jobs. This is what we do, you know?" Matt commented, guiding them over to their SUV for a shield, in case Daniel decided to start shooting again, just as sirens began fill their ears and police cars and SUVs with flashing red and blue lights showed up and parked near them.

Leaning against the back of the SUV, Noah closed his eyes for a second to try to relax, but his heart was racing and his ears were still ringing from the gunshots and the loud sirens, but then opened his eyes and looked at Matt, "thanks for knocking me out of the way."

"No thanks needed; that's what friends are for, but I also didn't want to break in a new partner, so it was win-win," Matt winked, laughing lightly and trying to break up the tension, just as their boss came over.

"I take it that didn't go so well?" He asked, looking at the door of the hotel and saw eight bullet holes in it, then looked them over to make sure they were okay.

Noah shook his head, "no. Now we know he has a gun and she's definitely in there," Noah commented, beginning to pace.

Lieutenant Andy Cross stopped him, "just relax, Puckerman, we'll deal with this," he promised, holding up a bullhorn, "we'll try and talk to him. We can't just barge in there now that we know he has a gun."

Knowing he was right, Noah sighed, "alright."

Turning on the bullhorn, Andy began speaking into it, "Daniel Simon, this is the police. We'd really like to get this situation resolved peacefully, so could you please talk to us to help figure out how we can end this?" Andy then turned to his partner, who was on the phone, "any answer?" He asked, knowing he was trying to call the room's phone.

"Negative," he replied, "he probably cut the cord."

With no answer, Noah began to get sick, but moved to his boss, "let me go in there," he begged.

Andy glanced at the hotel door that had bullet hole in it, "not a chance. He has a gun," he told him.

"I don't fucking care! That's my fiancée in there!" Noah snapped.

"Settle down, Puckerman, or I'll send you back to the station," Andy replied quickly. He hated being harsh with him, but he needed to keep Noah calm, "look, I know your fiancée is in there, trust me, I'm not ignoring that, but Rachel needs your head clear and I can only imagine what you're thinking and feeling right now, but it's not helping the situation. Daniel has a gun and one wrong move by anyone could send someone to the hospital or worse and I don't want that on my hands."

Trying not to snap at his boss again, Noah unbuckled his belt that held his gun and unhooked the thigh strap holding it down, "then I'll go in unarmed. He'll have the power and I can try to talk him out of whatever he's planning. Please," he begged.

"I'm going with you," Matt said, doing what Noah had just done.

Andy pressed the bridge of his nose, and thought for a moment, knowing neither of the guys would give up until they got what they wanted, "alright, but your vests stay on _and_ you have fifteen minutes. If you guys haven't come out of there with him in handcuffs by then, we're coming in with gas," Andy told them, "and keep your radios on so we can hear what's going on in there," he added.

"Got it," Noah nodded, looking at Matt, "are you sure you want to do this? Mercedes will kill me if something happens to you."

"She'll kill me if I don't help rescue Rachel," Matt added, "I'm going with you. I've got your back, remember?"

Noah smiled, "yeah, thanks," he replied, holding up his fist.

Matt bumped his fist with Noah's and turned to their boss for a final 'okay'.

"Don't make me regret this, guys," Andy warned them.

"We won't," Noah promised.

The two young officers moved back over to their SUV to put their gun belts into it, but neither were very trustworthy of Daniel, so they also slipped their guns under their shirts, in the back of their pants, 'just in case'.

Closing up their SUV, they went back to their boss and tested their radios and once Andy was convinced that they worked how he wanted them to, Matt and Noah moved around to the side of the SUV and quietly slipped back over to the door. Slipping on their gloves, in case they had to do any fighting, Noah held up a hand to the door and knocked, "Daniel. It's Noah. My partner and I want to come in and talk. We are unarmed and know you have a gun and are not afraid to use it. Please, let us in," Noah said slowly, trying to stay as calm as possible.

...

Hearing his voice, Rachel's eyes widened and she choked out a sob, "_he's okay! Thank you, thank you!_" She thought, squirming under Daniel's strength.

Daniel watched her for a moment and though he didn't like hearing Noah, he got an idea, "this will be great! I can have an audience when I rape you," he murmured, running the gun down down her chest slowly, before sliding off the bed and moving to the door. Taking a moment, he unlocked the door and removed the chain, "it better be the two of you. If I see any bullshit, I won't hesitate to shoot her," he said, stepping away from the door and moving back to Rachel and pointed the gun at her.

...

Hearing the clicking on the other side and then his voice, Noah glanced at Matt, who nodded at him. "Yeah, it's just us. We get it. No tricks," he replied, before putting his hand on the knob and pushing the door open.

Stepping in, both Noah and Matt held their hands up in surrender and Matt closed the door behind him, while Noah surveyed the room, but when his eyes landed on his fiancée, his blood boiled. "What the fuck are you doing to her?" Noah snapped, resisting the urge to rush to Rachel, in case that pissed Daniel off.

Daniel smirked, "I can do whatever I want to her. She's mine and I have a gun, remember?"

"You made your point. You have a gun. Now stop pointing that at her," Noah snapped.

"Why should I? She seems to answer better when I have it pointed at her. In fact, you guys are just in time for the show. We were just about to have sex," Daniel admitted, stepping closer and crawling back on top of her, straddling her hips. "She's a feisty one, too," he added.

"Get the fuck off of her, you son of a bitch!" Noah exclaimed, unable to hold back any longer and lunged forward, "don't you dare touch her!"

Just as Noah moved, so did Matt, stepping in front of him to stop him, pressing his hands on his shoulders, "settle the fuck down or you're gonna get someone shot!"

"You're partner's pretty smart," Daniel smirked, "you should listen to him."

Noah glared at Matt for stopping him, but knew he was right, so he reluctantly gave in and tried to settle down.

"That's a good boy," Daniel laughed, turning back to Rachel, this time reaching up with his free hand to run along her cheek, "I can touch her all I want. She really wants me, but she just doesn't know it yet."

Rachel shook her head 'no' and then turned to look away from him, clenching her eyes shut as more tears flowed out, "_I don't want him. I'll never want him!_ _I just want Noah,_" she thought, turning her head again, this time searching for familiar hazel eyes. Locking gazes with her fiancé, she couldn't help crying and tugging at the bindings, trying to get free and wanting him to hold her.

Noah's heart broke as he watched her cry and try to get free, feeling even more helpless than he had before. "_Baby, I'm trying. Just hang on a few more minutes,_" he thought, trying to convey the message with his eyes as his hostage negotiation training kicked in, "you know, Daniel, now that you have us here, shouldn't you give us something in return?" Noah asked curiously, knowing they were on a time crunch.

Daniel scoffed, "what the hell could I give you except a bullet hole in the head?"

"Maybe you could take the tape off of her mouth? I'd really like to know if she's okay and she can't tell me if you've got the tape covering her mouth," Noah explained.

"She'll start screaming as soon as I do, so no," Daniel shook his head.

"Can't you see she's terrified? Maybe if you show her a little compassion, she'll stay quiet. Rachel, if he takes the tape off, you won't scream, right?" Noah asked her softly and she nodded quickly, unable to do anything else.

Daniel eyed Noah and then turned to Rachel, seeing her nod again. "If I remove the tape, you better stay quiet," he snapped, sliding the gun up to rest against her throat. Nodding again several times, he took a deep breath and reached for the tape, getting his fingernail under a corner and ripped it off, the sound echoing through the room.

Everyone in the room flinched at the sound of the tape being removed, but Rachel was relieved to have it gone, even if her skin burned where it had been. Whimpering at the pain, she took a few deep breaths and slowly opened and closer her mouth, hoping it would ease the ache, "thank you," she whispered.

Noah glanced at Matt and relaxed a little, but knew they were running out of time, "Rachel, I know you're scared, but physically, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?" Noah asked quietly.

"I... I'm fine, but my hands are falling asleep because I can't really move them," she explained, "and I'm cold."

His eyes looked around the room and saw her sweater on the table, so he slowly stepped forward, "Daniel, could you put this on her, please?"

Daniel glanced around and then held out his hand, taking the sweater and threw it over her chest, "you happy?" He snapped at Noah.

"Yes, thank you," Noah nodded, then cleared his throat, "so what's your plan?"

"My plan?" Daniel grinned and sat back, turning to the guys, "you really want to know?" He asked, and at the nods of the guys, he continued, "I plan to take what belongs to me, then we'll leave and go as far away from here as possible, so she'll always be mine."

Rachel clenched her eyes shut and bit her lip at his words, tears falling from her eyes and choking out a sob as her mind raced with fears.

"Can't you see you're terrifying her? This is not the way to get what you want from her," Noah said as calm as he could.

"Yes it is. I _own_ her. I gave her eight months of my life and I'm not through with her, so I'm going to take what belongs to me," Daniel replied.

"But you cheated on her. She found you having sex with your secretary. She broke up with you because you hurt her. She's not yours anymore," Noah tried again.

"I'm the one who make's that decision!" Daniel exclaimed, pressing the gun to Rachel's chest, "she doesn't get a choice!"

Noah flinched when Daniel went back to holding the gun against Rachel's chest, wanting to rush over and knock him out of the way, but he knew he couldn't without possibly hurting her, so he settled for locking his eyes with hers. "You hurt her, man. You cheated on her. That's no way to treat a woman."

"If she had given me her virginity, like I wanted, then I wouldn't have had to go find it somewhere else!" Daniel snapped.

"What about what she wanted? She wanted to share herself with someone special and you might have been that, but you weren't willing to wait for her. You ruined your relationship when you chose to cheat on her. You hurt her, so she broke up with you. It's over between you two and she just wants to move on with her life. Doesn't she deserve a chance to make her own choices?" Noah asked softly.

Daniel brushed his left hand along her cheek, his right hand slowly relaxing with the gun, but as if a light had been turned on, he held the gun up, this time pointing towards Noah, "I know what you're doing! You want her for yourself! You want to take her away from me!"

Though the gun was pointed at him, Noah remained calm, expecting Daniel to figure it out, "I want what she wants. I want her to be happy. If she's happy with me, then I'll gladly have her, but it's her choice. Don't you want what she wants? Don't you want her to be happy? Doing all of this is not doing that and you're only making her hate you more. Come on, man, let her go. Let her be free to do what she wants, please," Noah tried.

"Please," Rachel begged, sobs returning as tears ran down her face.

Daniel continued to hold the gun on Noah, but looked back at Rachel, "but I want her," he murmured, beginning to give up his fight.

"Dude, look at what you're doing. This is definitely not the way to get what you want. Please, give her a chance to make her own choices," Noah begged, knowing their time was getting shorter and if that didn't work, he and Matt may have to get physical with Daniel.

Looking between Rachel and Noah and then to Matt and back to Rachel again, Daniel's mind raced, as if the tunnel vision he'd had for Rachel the past few weeks evaporated and he realized what he was doing and lowered the gun, dropping it on the floor by the bed, "alright, you win," he replied.

"_Oh thank God!_" Noah thought, as he and Matt both sighed in relief and rushed to him; neither of them being very 'gentle' as they pulled him off her and threw him face first onto the floor.

While Matt dealt with Daniel, Noah rushed to the head of the bed and grabbed the knife that Daniel had left on the night stand, quickly cutting the rope by the wood, and Rachel's first reaction, was to sit up and lean against him, unable to hug him because of her bound hands, "oh Noah," she sobbed, burying her head in his neck.

"I've got you, baby, you're safe," he promised, tears filling his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her protectively, "I'm here. You're okay," he added, unsure who he was reassuring more; him or her.

Though he hated to interrupt them, Matt cleared his throat. "I'm gonna take him out. I'll tell them to leave you guys alone," he said.

Noah nodded, "alright. Thanks man. We'll be out in a few," he replied, reaching to turn off his radio.

"Wait," Daniel said, looking at Matt and then Rachel, "Rachel, I'm... I'm sorry."

Rachel looked up at him, "go to hell," she hissed, before snuggling back into the comfort of Noah's arms.

When Rachel said that, Matt took the hint and left the room, shutting the door most of the way so they had some privacy.

"Come on, let get this tape off you," Noah murmured, picking up the pocket knife again. Rachel held up her hands, her sobs slowing the longer she was close to him and Noah removed the extra rope from around her wrists and then began cutting the multiple layers of tape, being careful not to cut her. Rachel bit her lip and tried to ignore the stinging from the tape coming off her skin, but she couldn't help flinching a few times when Noah pulled too fast. After a few moments, Noah finally cut the plastic zip ties from her wrists and tossed the knife and the mass of tape on the bed and looked up at her, "I'm sorry if that hurt," he whispered.

Ignoring his words, she lunged forward and crushed her lips to his, kissing him lovingly, tears still falling, but this time they were from happiness, love and relief, not fear and anger like they had been earlier, "I love you so much," she sobbed as her arms wrapped around his neck tightly.

He smiled brightly, "I love you more than life itself, baby. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you when he first..."

Rachel's hand went up to his lips to stop him, "you're here now," she told him honestly.

"I am," he agreed, pulling back slightly to look at her, then shifted his hands from around her to between them so he could take his gloves off and slip them into a pocket on his cargo pants, "come on, let's get this sweater on you so we can get out of here," he said, reaching out to brush his warm hand along her cheek, wiping her eyes and feeling horrible that her eyes were red and swollen from crying so much.

Letting her eyes drift closed, she took a few deep breaths to help settle her nerves before looking up at him, "it won't cover anything. It's a shrug; it doesn't close in the front," she whispered.

"Oh, well, I can fix that," he shifted a little and began unbuttoning his uniform shirt, revealing his bullet proof vest and long sleeve undershirt. When his shirt was completely unbuttoned, he pulled it out from under his waist band and took it off, then draped it around her shoulders, "how's this?"

Rachel slid her arms through the sleeves and though the shirt was huge on her, she didn't care. As she worked her hands down the sleeves, Noah pulled it together and buttoned the top few buttons and when her chest was covered, she threw her arms around him and kissed him again, "it's perfect," she murmured against his lips.

Rubbing her back gently, Noah smiled lightly, trying to calm his own nerves and get his heart rate back to normal, "how about we get you out of here?" He asked softly, looking at her and brushing some hair out of her eyes, before resting his hand on her cheek, gently wiping her eyes again.

"Please," she nodded, not wanting to let go of him.

Shifting a little, Noah left one arm around her back and stood up, slipping his other arm under her knees and lifted her up, "I've got you," he promised.

"I know you do," she smiled at him, keeping her arms around his neck and relaxing as best she could.

The door wasn't completely closed, so as Noah carried her towards it, he was able to use his foot to open it. Glancing around, he saw Matt talking with their boss and then saw the waiting ambulance with a stretcher sitting outside of it, so he carried her over there and laid her down on it.

Before he could completely pull away, Rachel pulled him back in for a kiss and clasped her hand with one of his, not wanting to him to leave, "don't leave."

"I'm not going anywhere," he assured her, squeezing her hand in response.

One of the EMTs was a woman, and Rachel was thankful she was the one checking her out, because she wasn't sure how she'd do around a strange guy right at the moment, even with the protection of her fiancé. While she was laying back, the EMT asked her some questions and Rachel answered them, talking for a few moments while she took some vitals and then got her to sit up, hanging her feet over the edge, "I knew you'd find me," Rachel said softly, looking up at Noah.

Noah smiled and stepped closer to her, kissing her gently, "always, baby. It is going to be hard to get married if you're not there," he added, reaching up to brush his hand along her cheek.

"I can't wait to be your wife," Rachel told him, wanting to crawl into his arms for warmth and security.

Moving closer to her, he rested his other hand on her cheek, brushing his thumb over her soft skin, "I love hearing you say that," he smiled.

"Puck, Rachel," Matt said walking up to them.

"Matt!" Rachel jumped a little not expecting him, but smiled, "hey!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he commented, "or interrupt, but I wanted to check on you."

Rachel shrugged, "I'm still pretty shaken up, but I'm getting better," she replied.

Matt nodded, "understandable. I'm glad we got there when we did," he said, holding up a black fleece jacket with 'SWAT' written on the back, "anyone want a jacket?"

"I'm perfectly fine with what I've got on," Rachel admitted proudly, patting Noah's uniform shirt that she had on.

Noah smiled and took the jacket from Matt, releasing her hand long enough to slip it on and once it was zipped up, he retook her hand, "thanks, man, for getting me out of the way when that asshole started shooting, for backing me up... For everything," Noah said looking at his friend.

"No thanks needed," Matt replied, patting Noah on the shoulder, "I've got your back. That's what friends and partners do," he added.

"But still, thank you, Matt. You saved Noah's life and for that I'm grateful," Rachel said, reaching out to hug him.

Matt leaned in and gave her a friendly hug, then pulled away and shrugged, "you're welcome, but like I told him earlier, now I don't have to break in a new partner," he grinned.

Rachel giggled lightly at his comment, "Matthew, that's not nice. We're trying to be serious."

"I know. I'm just trying to lighten the mood," Matt replied, "and I'm really glad to see you smiling and laughing."

"Me too," Noah nodded in agreement.

She took a deep breath and relaxed a moment, "I'm not saying I'm perfect, because I'm far from it, but as long as I have my fiancé and our friends and family around, I'll be okay," she explained, turning to the female EMT, "may I go now?"

"I think so. Your blood pressure is a little high, but it's expected and you don't have any physical injuries to warrant a trip to the hospital, so if you feel you can go home, I won't stop you," the woman replied honestly.

"Thank you," Rachel nodded and hopped down off the gurney, wrapping her arms around Noah's waist, "will you take me home?"

Noah smiled, nodding, "gladly," he kissed her gently and hugged her and then guided her towards his and Matt's patrol SUV, "we will have to stop at the station to get my car though. Is that okay?" He asked, "because once we get back, I don't want to leave you again."

"Of course that's alright. As long as I'm with you, I'll be okay," she admitted.

"Good to know," he commented, leaning down and kissing her lips.

"I'll drive. You two can get mushy in the backseat. Just don't christen it until I'm out of the car," Matt replied as they reached the SUV.

"Hang on, guys," Andy called out, jogging over to them.

"Yeah, boss?" Noah asked.

"That's your boss?" Rachel murmured, biting her lip nervously.

"Everything check out okay?" Andy asked.

Noah nodded, "yes, it did," he glanced at Rachel, "babe, this is our boss, Lieutenant Andy Cross. Andy, this is my fiancée Rachel," Noah said, smiling as he introduced her.

Andy held out his hand and nodded at her, "it's a pleasure to meet the woman who has snagged one of my officers, Rachel, though I do wish it was under different circumstances," he admitted.

Rachel reached out and shook his hand, nodding in agreement, "yes, sir, I feel the same way," she looked up at Noah and back to Andy, "I'm definitely not letting him go, that's for sure," she added with a smile, "but I am sorry if I caused any trouble today."

"Please, call me Andy," he said waving off her 'sir', "and do not apologize for anything. You did not do anything wrong. I'm just glad we were able to get to you before things got worse," he said honestly.

"Me too," she nodded, biting her lip, "but I'm embarrassed over how I was found," she added softly.

"I noticed you came out in Noah's shirt," he replied, "and there is nothing to be embarrassed about. You couldn't control what he did and we're all adults here."

"I'll admit I saw, but I respect you enough to look away," Matt told her.

She bit her lip and nodded, a blush growing on her cheeks, "thanks Matt."

"No problem," he nodded at her.

"Matt, Puck, you guys did good," Andy said, glancing at the two officers.

"It was all Puck," Matt admitted.

"I heard you stop him from doing something stupid. He kept his cool because you had his back. It was a team effort," Andy replied. "I'll need to talk to all three of you, but for now, go home and relax," he glanced at his officers and then looked at Rachel, "none of this is your fault. Talk to your dads, Puck, your friends or family; anyone, if you need to, okay?"

Rachel nodded, "okay, I will. I know it's not going to go away, but I'd like to think I'll be fine, once I've had a few days to process what happened and can relax in the safety of my house with my dads and fiancé," she explained.

"Hopefully you will," Andy agreed, "and you'll have plenty of time with Puck. How about the rest of the week off and come back to work Monday?" He glanced at Noah curiously.

"What? Really?" Noah gasped in shock.

Andy nodded, "yeah. You've got a ton of vacation days; use them. Your fiancée is more important than work," he told him.

Still shocked at the offer, Noah looking at the girl who still had her arms wrapped around him, "yeah, she definitely is," he agreed, "thank you."

"You're welcome," Andy nodded at them.

Excusing himself, Andy stepped away, letting Noah and Rachel climb into the backseat of the SUV, while Matt slid into the driver's seat and soon they were on their way back to Lima's Police Department.

"Rach, you wanna call your dads?" Noah asked, pulling out his cell phone from his pocket.

"Yeah!" She nodded and took the offered phone, dialing the familiar number

"Noah? Is everything alright?" Alan asked, as he answered the phone after the third ring.

"It's me, dad," Rachel said, trying to keep calm, "Noah and Matt got there just in time."

"Oh thank God! Sweetheart, we were so worried about you," he admitted, putting the phone on speaker so everyone there could hear.

Rachel couldn't help the emotions surfacing again and leaned against her fiancé, tears beginning to fall, "I love you guys so much," she cried.

"Oh, we love you, too, Rachel. We're so happy to hear your voice," David told her.

"Daddy," Rachel sighed in relief, already feeling better, "it's great to hear your voices, too."

"We're so glad you're okay, Rachel," Arin commented.

Rachel smiled, hearing Arin's voice, "hey Arin. How did you know what happened?"

"Your dads called Arin and I, so we came over right away," Deborah replied.

"How are you doing, Rachel?" Mercedes chimed in.

"Mercedes? Okay, I get why Deborah and Arin are there, but what are you doing there?"

"We called to tell her that Matt may not be home like normal and also passed on what happened," David explained.

"And I decided to come over to keep them company and see if you were okay," she added.

"Thank you," Rachel smiled, putting the phone on speaker, because Matt was driving and wanted to talk to Mercedes.

"Hey babe, how long are you going to be over there?" Matt asked.

"As long as necessary, but I'm not sure if Rachel will be up for company," Mercedes admitted.

"I just need a shower and then as long as I'm with my friends and family, I think I'll be okay," Rachel replied.

"Good, because Quinn, Finn, Tina, Mike and Dave are on their way over, too," Mercedes added.

"What?" Rachel gasped.

"Well, I thought you might need to be cheered up, so I called for reinforcements," Mercedes explained, "and they're bringing dinner."

Rachel clenched her eyes shut and nodded, smiling brightly, "I love you guys."

"We love you, too. Are you on your way back home?" David asked.

"Sort of. We just got back to the police station. Noah just wants to get his car and his things, then we'll be on our way back," she explained, "and I'm sure Matt will be doing the same thing."

"I will be," Matt agreed as they pulled into their parking spot.

"We'll be there soon," Rachel promised, saying 'bye' to them and then hung up, handing the phone back to Noah, "thank you."

"No problem, babe," he replied, kissing her gently, "love you."

"Love you, too," she replied, relaxing for a moment before sliding out of the SUV with him.

Noah and Matt opened the back end and pulled out their bags, and then Noah held out his hand to her, "come on."

Rachel took his hand and laced their fingers together, squeezing it gently and loving the feeling of his larger hand wrapped around hers, "is it alright, though? I'm not a police officer," she said softly.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight," he told her, "so fuck 'em if they have an issue," Noah commented honestly.

"Okay," she said softly, wrapping her other hand around his arm and felt his bicep flex as they walked and tried to stay as close to him as possible; his strength keeping her calm.

Noah glanced at his arm and saw how close she was to him, "hey, you okay?" He asked, stopping just as they walked inside the building.

"Yes," she nodded, "just want to be close to you, that's all," she admitted softly, "I also look horrible," she murmured.

"You look beautiful," he told her, not caring that her hair was a mess, her face was red and her eyes were bloodshot from crying so much, "you're safe. I've got your back in good times and in bad," he added, pulling her into his arms for a hug.

Rachel relaxed against his chest for a moment, taking a deep breath, and then looked up at him, "thank you."

"Don't mention it," he assured her.

Noah and Rachel continued on their walk to the guys' locker room; they'd gone in a side door, that usually is just used for officers and headed through the halls until they reached the locker room for the SWAT team. "You guys have your own locker room?" Rachel asked, following them inside.

"Yep," Noah nodded, "we have more gear than the regular cops wear and use, so we have our own," he explained, moving right over to the one with 'Puckerman' engraved on the locker's plaque.

Rachel took a seat on the bench near him, watching as he sorted out some things, taking off his bulletproof vest and putting it into his bag with a few other things before zipping it closed and picking it up, "okay, ready to go?"

"Yes," she nodded and stood up, "ready to go home and burn these jeans," she murmured.

"Why?" Noah asked with a grin, "you're fuckin' hot in them. Or maybe it's because you've got my shirt on."

She blushed, "you really like them? Even if he was crawling all over me," she shuddered, slipping her arms around him, "I can still feel his hands on me."

Noah held her close, taking a moment to gather his thoughts, "I promise I'll make you forget that," he told her, "by giving you something you'll really want to remember."

"I know you will," she smiled, knowing he'd definitely be able to replace those memories.

...

When Rachel, Noah and Matt arrived at the Berry's, everyone was there that Mercedes said was on their way and they all welcomed Rachel home with hugs and promised to be there during her recovery.

Rachel thanked everyone and promised she wouldn't be long, but she wanted to shower and change before she joined them, so she and Noah went up to her room. She stripped her clothes off as soon as she was in the room, kicking off her shoes and piling everything in the corner before moving right into her bathroom and getting into the shower.

Noah stood stunned in her room for a moment, surprised she had completely stripped in front of him, but then quickly realized that she trusted him, so he smiled and tried to focus as he changed clothes. When he was done he moved over to her bathroom door, which was still open, "babe, you okay in here?" He asked softly, "need anything?"

"I'm okay," Rachel admitted, standing under the hot spray, "you can come in here if you want," she added.

"Rachel, I love you and I want nothing more than to see you without clothes on, but didn't we kind of agree to wait until our wedding night to make love?" He asked softly.

She smiled, nodding at what he said and picked up the bottle of shampoo, "just because I'm letting you see me naked, doesn't mean I'm expecting us to have sex, Noah," she admitted softly, "I'm doing it because I trust you, I love you and want to share everything with you."

Noah groaned, his body reacting to her words, "that's hot," he murmured, "and I know that. I just don't want you thinking that you owe me for what I did today," he admitted, stepping into the bathroom, "because you don't and I'm so happy that you trust me enough to expose yourself to me, and I'll gladly take in the amazing view, but I just want to make sure you want to do that; not feel obligated to," he explained honestly.

While washing her hair, she listened to him and as she rinsed her hair out, she smiled, "I want to, Noah. It has nothing to do with today," she admitted, "it is something I've been thinking of. I thought maybe we could test the waters, you know, so on our wedding night everything isn't all new to me. I..." she blushed, "I don't have the experience like you do and I want to be able to enjoy our first time; not wonder about everything we're doing or feeling."

Taking a deep breath to calm his senses, then smiled, "I think that's a great idea, Rach," he agreed, "but will you give me a few days before we take that step?" He asked softly.

"Um, uh, yeah," Rachel nodded, immediately feeling nervous, "did I say something wrong?"

"No! No," Noah shook his head, "nothing like that, just, could you finish your shower first?"

"Sure," Rachel took a few moments to finish washing and rinsing her body and hair, and once she was satisfied she was clean, she stepped out, smiling when her fiancé was holding a towel, "thank you."

Noah stepped towards her and wrapped the towel around her, kissing her on the lips, "you're welcome. Feel better?" He asked, slowly rubbing her back to dry her body.

"Much better," she agreed, "now talk."

He smirked, but guided her into her room and got her to sit on the edge of her bed and knelt down in front of her, his hands resting on her towel covered hips, "when I joined the police department, I was tested, but since then I have been with a few girls and even though it's been some time since I've slept with someone, I haven't been retested," he explained.

"Tested?" She narrowed her eyes in confusion and then it dawned on her, "oh... oh!"

Noah nodded, "so I didn't mean to worry you, but I would like to be tested before we go much further," he admitted, reaching up to wipe away a few water droplets on her chin, "I was going to do it before we got married anyway, but now that I'm off for a few days and with what has happened, I figured I'd tell you; especially if we want to go a little further than we have been," he winked.

Rachel smiled and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his lips, "that would mean the world to me, Noah and when you make an appointment, I'd be happy to go with you."

"I'll call tomorrow," he smiled, wrapping his arms around her, "why don't you get dressed so we can go down and visit with our friends."

"Good idea! I feel bad they've been waiting this long," she admitted.

"I think they understand, but I'm hungry," Noah smirked, standing up and stretching.

Getting up, Rachel moved over to her dresser and closet, collecting some clothes to put on and after towel drying her hair and body, she got dressed and slid her feet into some comfortable slippers, "okay, ready."

Noah held out his hand and when she took it, she gasped, "wait!" She let go and dashed to the other side of her bed and grabbed the shiny ring off the nightstand, "I feel horrible! We got this beautiful engagement ring and I took this off to put lotion on and then I kind of got comfortable in bed and then _he_ showed up and I... I never got it back on," she admitted. "I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, babe," Noah walked towards her and took the ring from her hands and lifted her left one to him, sighing in relief, "I noticed you didn't have it on, but I thought he'd taken it and that's why he had shot at me. I'm actually glad you weren't wearing it, because I don't even want to think about what he would have done if he'd seen it," he admitted softly, sliding the ring back onto her finger, then pressed a kiss to her ring and finger, "but I'm glad it's back on your hand."

She nodded, "me too," she took a deep breath, "you're right. I hadn't thought of that, but I'm glad, too. I never want to take it off again. I swear I won't."

"It's okay, babe," he kissed her lips, "I understand why. Lotion and rings don't mix well; just make sure you put it back on next time," he winked at her.

"Deal," she promised.

He nodded and with her left hand in his, he led them downstairs and they joined their friends and family. Most everyone had a plate in their hands, eating on a variety of foods that they'd picked up on their way and both Noah and Rachel gathered up their own plates and sat down in a free space on the couch.

"Everything alright?" David asked, moving to sit next to Rachel.

Rachel nodded, and leaned against his shoulder, "I'm okay right now. Ask me in the morning," she admitted.

Though still concerned for her mental state, because they could tell she was physically okay, her dads and friends left the 'are you okay?' questions for a later time, knowing she didn't want to relive the events of that afternoon.

Spending several hours together, Rachel was happy to have her friends and family around and thanked them all for being concerned about her. They all, in their own way, told Rachel that she was their friend and would always be on her side, no matter what happened. She appreciated hearing that and was happy to know she had been right all along; her friends in Lima were her true friends.

Knowing her dads always supported her, she was extremely glad to hear that Deborah and Arin saw her as family, too. Rachel now had a mom and a sister, two people she'd never had in her life before, but happily welcomed the addition and knew everyone in the room would help her recover from what she'd been through.

...

As the night wore on, Rachel began to get tired, so everyone insisted she go to bed, so she and Noah said 'goodnight' to their friends and family and headed upstairs to get ready for bed.

"I apologize for anything I may say or do while I sleep," Rachel commented as she slid into bed with a pair of shorts and one of Noah's t-shirts on.

Noah joined her, dressed in boxers and a t-shirt and shrugged, "it's okay. I expect you to wake up. Just don't punch me. Black eyes don't go well with my skin tone," he winked.

She giggled lightly, but shook her head, "Noah, I'm being serious. I don't know what I'm going to dream about and I know he didn't do what he was planning, but he was so close that... I don't know," she admitted.

"I know, babe," Noah wrapped his arms around her. "but I wanted to see you smile," he admitted, "and I wish I could take all the bad dreams away, but know that I'm here and hopefully in every dream you have, I swoop in and rescue you."

Rachel smiled, "you did in real life; that's better than any dream," she replied, kissing him lovingly.

"Well you know, dreams do come true," he added, giving her another kiss.

"They do," she nodded, snuggling closer to him, then lifted her left hand to show him her ring, "because this is."

"Oh, it is? You dreamed of marrying me?" He wondered, smirking.

"I may have had a dream where I walked down the aisle and met you," she replied casually, "but no dream can replace how happy and excited I am really do that and to be your wife," she explained.

Pulling the blankets up over them, Noah kissed her lovingly, "and I can't wait to be your husband," he replied, smiling at her, "and to share the rest of my life with the most beautiful woman in the world."

Rachel felt tears in her eyes from his words, "I love you, Noah, so much."

"I love you, too, Rach," he murmured, his hands rubbing her back gently, "let's try to get some sleep. I'm here if you need me," he promised.

"I know," she smiled, resting her head on his chest as she clung to him, hoping for good and happy dreams about her future with Noah and not flashbacks about what happened or what could have been happened.

...

A/N7: Definitely an emotional chapter, but I hope you guys liked it! Review and let me know!

A/N8: So sorry it's been so long since I last updated, but this time I did it on purpose. One of my awesome readers, who has become a best friend to me, has her birthday on 9/26, so as a birthday present, I wanted to wait and update all my fics for her birthday... Happy Birthday, PKteach!

A/N9: Still making bracelets and other crafts. If you're interested, let me know!

...


	12. Chapter 12  RATING 'M' DUE TO CONTENT

Title: Broken Road, Part 12/?

**Rating: M/R**

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

...

**Reminder:** The rating of this story as a whole is 'T/PG-13'. Only chapters 10-12 are considered a rating of 'M/R' due to content.

...

Noah didn't even bother to close his eyes when Rachel did, knowing there was no way he could get to sleep anytime soon. Between the adrenaline that still pumped through his veins and the emotions of the day, his mind was still on overdrive. As a SWAT officer, Noah has dealt with a lot of similar cases to what had happened that day and usually he could just shake them off within a few hours, but this was the first time that someone close to him had been the victim.

"_I hate to think she's been a victim of anything,_" Noah thought, looking at her as she snuggled against him, his arms draped protectively around her body, "_she didn't deserve this. I know I'm not perfect, but I'd never force her to do anything she didn't want to do and I'll spend the rest of my life showing her how special she is,_" he smiled, reaching a hand up to brush some hair from her face, "_I know we've got a lot of things to figure out, but we'll figure them out together, baby. I'm here, with you, forever,_" he promised, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her forehead.

Carefully settling against the pillows so he didn't disturb her, Noah continued to watch her. He wasn't sure how her night would go and wanted to be there if she woke upset, but he could feel his body finally relaxing enough to close his eyes, so reluctantly he gave in to sleep, hoping Rachel would be okay or she'd wake him up if she needed him.

...

As Rachel drifted off to sleep in the comfort of Noah's arms, she knew she was safe, but that didn't stop her mind from flashing back to events of the day. Though the dreams were tough to deal with, Noah rescued her in them, just like he had in real life and that helped her from having severe nightmares, but she still spent some time tossing and turning. Most of the time was because she'd rolled away from Noah his warmth and was finding him again to stay close to, his body making her feel safe.

Noah woke a few times when Rachel was tossing and turning, expecting her to wake up, but she never did, always snuggling back against him and continued to sleep. He'd gently rub her back or brush hair from her face to help keep her relaxed so she could keep sleeping and it seemed to work.

As light began to filter into the room the next morning, Noah woke up and saw it was after seven. Rachel was laying, facing him with her right arm folded under her and her left hand resting on the mattress between them. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he carefully slipped out of bed and moved into the bathroom to take care of things, returning a few minutes later.

Feeling the bed shift when Noah returned, Rachel gasped and woke up in shock, sitting up quickly and looking around to get her bearings, "Noah?"

"I'm right here, babe," Noah said softly, realizing the movement had startled her, "sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just came back from the bathroom."

"Oh, alright," she took a deep breath and laid back next to him, "I haven't been dreaming for a while, but was comfortable and then I felt the bed move; I wasn't expecting it."

"I'm sorry. I tried to be careful, I didn't want to wake up you or scare you," he told her honestly, wrapping his arms around her, "you're okay," he added, kissing her cheek gently.

She smiled at him, "don't worry about it and I know I'm okay, because I'm with you," she replied, pressing a kiss to his lips.

Returning her kiss, he relaxed, "good to know. I hope that doesn't change," he added, "I always want you to feel safe with me."

"I'll always be safe with you, that I'm sure of," she assured him, closing her eyes a little as she rested her head on his chest.

Noah brushed his hand through her hair gently and rubbed her back, "definitely makes me feel really good to hear that."

"It's the truth," she smiled, feeling her body starting to relax even more with his hands on her head, gently massaging it, "and you can give me a head message anytime you want," she murmured.

He laughed lightly at that, but continued what he was doing, gently running his fingertips along her scalp and through her hair, "I take it this feels good?" He wondered.

"So good," she replied, "makes me not want to get out of bed."

"No one said you have to," he told her.

"But you wanted to make an appointment with your doctor and don't we have to talk to you boss?" She asked softly.

"Yeah, but I can do that later. I doubt I'll get an appointment today, so I'll make one for tomorrow or Friday," he explained, "as for my boss, yes we do have to talk to him sometime today. He can come over here or we can go to the station."

"Alright. I guess it doesn't matter where we are when we talk to him. We just have to tell him our side of the story, right?"

Noah nodded, "yeah. You just need to tell him the truth, same as me."

"I can do that," she agreed, "later... I wanna stay here right now," she admitted.

"No hurry," Noah grinned, tugging the blankets up over them a little more to relax.

...

It didn't take long for Rachel to begin shifting and getting restless, not used to staying in bed so long after waking up. "I think I'm going to take a shower."

"I take it you're not used to laying in bed all day relaxing?" He wondered, looking at her.

Biting her lip, she shook her head, "no," she replied, a blush growing on her cheeks, "if I'm awake, I usually don't stay in bed long."

"What can I say to make you change your mind?" He asked, shifting a little so he was now laying on his side facing her with his arm draped over her chest.

As Noah shifted, Rachel's mind flashed to the day before, Daniel straddling her body with his hands all over her. Trying to shake the memory from her mind, she gasped and sat up quickly, "I... I need to get up," she murmured, pushing the blankets off and turned to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Rachel?" Noah watched her, concerned about her complete change in mood. Gently reaching over and resting a hand on her shoulder, she flinched under his touch, so he quickly pulled his hand away, "baby, talk to me. What did I do? Did I say something wrong?" Now even more worried and confused about what happened in the last few moments.

She shook her head, "you didn't say anything wrong," she said quickly, tears filling her eyes as moments from the day before continued to flash through her mind.

Feeling his stomach tighten in knots, Noah realized what the problem was, so he got up quickly and moved around the bed to kneel down in front of her, "talk to me, Rach," he said, resting his hands on her thighs and rubbing them gently, "what's wrong?"

Blinking her eyes, tears slipped out, "I... when you... I just... I got a flash of him on top of me on the bed," she cried, "he... I couldn't..."

"Oh shit, baby," Noah reached up and wiped her eyes, his hands resting against her cheeks, "I'm so sorry, Rach... I should have thought about that before I moved like that."

"Don't apologize," she replied softly, her eyes closing as she tried to calm down, "I want you close... I..."

Moving quickly, Noah stood up and slid next to her, carefully wrapping his arms around her and when she didn't pull away, he pulled her close to him, "I'm right here, baby. You're safe, I've got you."

"I know," she nodded, taking a deep breath and trying to stay calm, "I just... I thought I'd be over this... That I could just pretend like it didn't happen and go on with my life. I just wish..." She clenched her eyes shut, "I wish you could make the memories go away," she choked out between sobs.

Noah bit his lip, trying to come up with ideas to help her and gently rubbed her back to calm her, "baby, I hate to say this, but you can't just 'pretend like it didn't happen'," he said sadly. "You need to remember, because you're okay now. You're safe and he didn't get to do what he was threatening to. I may have a way of helping you, too, but it won't be easy, either," he told her softly, unsure if it was really a good idea.

"What? How?" She asked, turning to look at him.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips, "you know the old cliché about if you fall off the horse you gotta try again?"

"Yes," she nodded, her mind trying to figure out what he was talking about, "do you mean you want to tie me up and do what he was trying to do?"

"Hell no!" Noah exclaimed, shaking his head, "I'd never do that to you," he said honestly, calming down for a moment, "what I mean is that you'd lay back like you were yesterday and I'll show you how a real man treats a woman in bed," he explained softly, "so you can replace the bad memories with good ones."

At Noah's suggestion, Rachel thought about her options and couldn't help the blush that grew on her cheeks. "I really like that idea," she replied softly, "but I... I think I just need some time to relax," she admitted.

Noah brushed his hand along her cheek, "understandable and there's no rush; when you're ready, I'll be there," he promised, kissing her cheek.

Rachel smiled and turned her head, leaning in to kiss his lips, "I love you, Noah."

"I love you, too, Rachel, so much," he returned her kiss and then shifted a little, patting the bed, "why don't you relax and I'll go make us some breakfast," he suggested.

"I'd rather go shower," she admitted, "is that okay?"

"Yeah, totally," Noah nodded, "whatever you wanna do is fine by me," he kissed her forehead and stood up, "up for pancakes?"

"They sound lovely, but you don't have to go to that much trouble," she replied.

"It's no trouble," he kissed her again, "you're worth it."

Rachel's blush continued as she nodded, "thanks," she stood up and wrapped her arms around him, "I'll be down in a bit."

Noah nodded, "take your time and if you need anything just holler for me," he said, his arms slipping around her waist and holding her close, kissing her gently.

...

Slipping a pair of sweats on over his boxers, and leaving the t-shirt on he'd slept in, Noah grabbed his cell phone and went downstairs to find the fixings for brunch, when he realized it was almost eleven-am.

The house was quiet. Rachel had insisted that David and Alan go to work, because Noah would be with her and she'd call them if she needed anything. They were hesitant, but trusted Noah to take care of her, so they did agree to go.

Digging out what Noah needed to make pancakes, he began to mix the batter up and while one of his hands was free, he called his boss to find out when he wanted to talk to them. "Hey Puck, how's Rachel doing?" Andy asked.

"As good as can be expected," Noah admitted, "she slept okay, but had had some flashbacks that bothered her. I don't think everything has quite hit her yet, but maybe she's through the worst of it."

"Maybe. How are you holding up?"

Noah took a deep breath, "I'm alright. She's all I care about right now."

"I get that, but you're no help to her if you're sick or emotional. You gotta take care of yourself, too, Puck," Andy said.

"I know. I'll be okay. She's back home safe; that's what's important. We'll get through the rest together and take things one day at a time," he replied, flipping the pancakes he had in the pan, "we're just getting up now and I was wondering when you wanted to talk to us about what happened. Do you want us to come down to the station or you wanna come over?" Noah asked him, getting back to why he called.

"She'd probably feel more comfortable at home, so I can stop over. How about two?"

"Sounds good. Gives us time to get up and all. You remember where she lives?"

"Yeah, I have her address. If I need help I'll get Rutherford to come along," Andy added.

"Alright, cool. So I'll see you around two," Noah replied.

The two said 'goodbye' and Noah pocketed his phone when he hung up, returning his focus back on breakfast. While each batch of pancakes cooked, Noah gathered together some fresh fruit and things they'd eat with what he was making and set the items on the island in the kitchen. Hearing footsteps, Noah glanced up just as Rachel was walking into the kitchen, "hey babe, have a good shower?" He asked, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"I think so," she replied, smiling as she relaxed against his chest, "it smells so good in here," she added, glancing around to see what he was making.

"I was going to make plain pancakes, but then found some chocolate chips, so I added them to the batter," he explained, "also found some fruit and other things to have."

Rachel smiled, standing on her tip toes and pressed a kiss to his lips, "it all sounds amazing."

"Good," Noah returned her smile and kissed her once more before guiding her over to a stool by the island, "I'll finish setting the table. I also threw on some coffee. It's almost ready," he admitted, "want some?"

"Sure," she replied, watching him move around the kitchen, "you're spoiling me, Noah," she said after a few moments.

Noah took a serving tray, piled with pancakes that he had staying warm in the oven, and moved over to set it on a potholder on the island, "what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," she blushed, smiling at him, "I'm just not used to it. I've been doing most of the cooking while I've been here and in New York I'm almost always doing the cooking," she explained, "unless I go out to eat."

"Well, that's gonna change," Noah told her, setting coffee cups on the table for them and then took the seat across from her, "I'm not a fancy cook, but I will do anything I can to chip in."

"Thanks," Rachel smiled, reaching across and taking his hand, squeezing it gently, "that means a lot."

Noah lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the top, "you're so worth it."

...

Talking lightly over breakfast, neither were in a hurry to finish. They were enjoying the quiet, alone time they had, something they'd had little of because most of the time others were with them; her dads, his mom, his sister or their friends, so they took the opportunity to just them.

Noah mentioned he'd talked to his boss, letting her know the plan and making sure she was okay with it. Though she wasn't in a rush to talk about what happened to her in details, she knew she had to eventually, so she was fine with the visit that afternoon.

"Did you call to make that appointment yet?" She asked softly as they slowly finished and began to clean up the kitchen.

"No, not yet. I was going to wait until I knew when Andy was going to come over," Noah explained.

"Oh, alright," Rachel nodded, "that makes sense. I was just curious when you were going to."

"I'll call right now," he told her, "then I'll help with dishes."

"No, I've got them, Noah. You made breakfast, I'll take care of the dishes," she replied, passing off his offer to help. 

"Are you sure?" He asked and when she nodded, he continued, "okay. As long as you're sure. I'm gonna go shower after I call," he said, reaching for his phone.

"Okay, I'll be here," she smiled at him.

Noah moved over and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her lovingly, "I'll be back in a few," he promised.

"I know," she assured him, soaking in his warmth for a moment before watching him walk out of the kitchen.

...

Getting up to Rachel's room, Noah made a quick call to his doctor's office to make an appointment. They had a few openings for the next day, so he took one at noon and wrote a note on his phone to remind him so he didn't forget to tell Rachel, then set some clean clothes on her bed and headed for the bathroom.

Not needing to be in there too long, he took a quick shower, washing and rinsing, then got out and dried off. With the towel still in his hands, he continued to dry his body as he pulled the bathroom door open and heard typing, so he looked around and saw Rachel sitting at her desk, typing on her laptop, "oh, hey babe. I didn't realize you'd be in here," he commented, wrapping his towel around his waist; unsure if seeing him naked would scare her right now.

Rachel turned around, "sorry, I figured I'd just stay up here and work on stuff, instead of taking everything downstairs," she admitted, smiling at him, "better view up here, anyway," she added.

Noah smirked, "nothing to be sorry about. It's your room," he moved over to her and pressed a kiss to her lips, "you like what you see?"

She nodded and stood up, unable to resist the temptation to run her hands over his bare chest, "makes me feel even safer," she replied, pressing a kiss to the skin over his heart.

Feeling her touches, Noah let his eyes drift closed for a moment, enjoying the feeling, but was also trying to keep his body from reacting, "I'm glad you feel that way. I just don't want to scare you," he told her softly.

"You can't scare me... Well, I'm sure you could, but not in the sexual way," she replied, "I know you're not rushing me and I'm totally okay with this," she motioned to him, "I don't want to be a complete stranger to you when we make love the first time," she explained, "give me some time and I'll be open for more, if you are."

"Rachel, when you're ready for something more, I will be, too. I want it to be your choice," he told her truthfully, "and if you told me to stop, I would," he added, looking at her. "I'm not just saying this because of what happened yesterday. A big part of it is, but I would be telling you the same thing if that hadn't happened, too."

"I know, thank you," she slid her arms around his waist and hugged him, her head resting on his chest, "you're an amazing man, Noah. Not many girls can say they have a knight in shining armor," she grinned, looking up at him, "I'm so lucky to have you back in my life. I never want to let go."

Noah grinned, leaning down and kissing her lips, "good thing you don't have to," he murmured, "and I'm the lucky one," he added, reaching for her left hand and lifted it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her ring, "it won't be long before we're officially husband and wife."

Shifting her hand so she could lace their fingers together, she looked at the sparkly ring on her hand, "I'm so excited to finally be Mrs. Noah Puckerman," she admitted, smiling brightly at him, "to be honest, I had this really good feeling inside of me when I was packing to come home. It wasn't just because I could spend the holidays with my dads; it was a different feeling. Like subconsciously I knew something amazing was going to happen to me while I was home," she explained, moving over to her bed and taking a seat, patting the edge for him to join her.

"Oh yeah?" Noah grinned, moving towards the bed, but grabbed his boxers and put them under his towel, then tossed it aside to continue getting dressed, "you never mentioned it before," he added.

"I didn't need too," she replied with a shrug, "besides, I didn't think anyone would believe me. The feeling was what kept me going over the break-up, you know? Like somehow I knew it didn't matter that I'd broken up with _him_, because I was coming home to you."

Noah finished getting dressed and took a seat next to her, "I definitely think your subconscious knew something amazing was gonna happen," he agreed, returning her smile.

"You do?" She asked, surprised that he believed her.

"I admit I didn't have the same feeling the day we met up again, but I know what it's like to have gut feelings; I've had them before. So yes, I definitely believe you. It's one of the things that keeps us cops on our toes," he explained.

"Oh, I never thought of that before," she admitted. "I'm glad you believe me. I honestly didn't think anyone would."

Noah smirked, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her lips, "figured people would think you're crazy?"

"Well, yeah, a little," she blushed, nodding at him.

"Baby, if anyone thinks you're crazy for having feelings, there's something wrong with them, not you," he told her honestly.

She smiled at his response and nodded in understanding. Shifting a little, she slid back on the bed, now made and settled against her pillow, "join me," she murmured.

Remembering that morning, Noah raised a curious eyebrow at her, "are you sure you're okay with that? I don't want you to freak out," he admitted.

"I need to work through this, Noah, the metaphorical horse and all," she said, reminding him of what they'd talked about earlier that morning.

"Alright," he smirked, crawling over her to lay on the side he'd been using, but she stopped him, "what?" He asked concerned.

"Stay here," she said softly.

Noah looked at how he was, kneeling on the bed, straddling her thighs, "babe, I'm all for helping out, but are you sure you're ready for this right now... When I said that, you seemed to agree, but in a few days; it doesn't have to be today."

Rachel reached out, taking his hands in hers and then sat up a little to press a kiss to his lips, "I know. I'd like to start out gradual, and this is the perfect way," she replied, laying back again.

Letting her guide his hands above her head, he had to lean over her and since he was much heavier, he released their hands and pressed his into the mattress next to her head, so he wasn't putting his weight on her, "gradual is good," he agreed, leaning in and kissing her gently, "if anything gets too much, tell me and I'll stop," he added softly.

She nodded in response and already felt the memories returning, but this time she was prepared for them. "_It's Noah, Rachel, just remember that,_" she told herself, letting her eyes drift closed as she felt the safe warmth of Noah's body over her and his lips on her face and neck, "_he's not going to hurt you... Oh, that really feels good,_" she couldn't help the light groan that escaped her lips when she felt him kissing her lower neck. When their lips connected again, the memory of being kissed with her mouth covered in tape came back to her and she gasped, pulling from the kiss.

"What? What is it?" Noah asked quickly, pulling back to study her expressions.

"I just..." she blushed, hating the mixed feelings, "he kept kissing me when my mouth was taped shut," she murmured.

Noah rested his hand against her cheek, his thumb gently brushing over her lips, "I'm not him," he promised, leaning in and kissing her softly once more before pulling away, "you're lips are too beautiful to hide like that," he added, smiling at her.

Rachel returned his smile and took a deep breath, "thanks. This was definitely a good idea."

"I'm glad you think that," he replied, returning his lips to her skin, pressing kisses along her neck and jaw for a moment before he pulled back, shaking his head, "I wish I could have been here when he showed up so I could have protected you. You didn't deserve any of what happened to you."

"Part of me wishes you were here, too," Rachel agreed, "but the other part knows that he had a gun and if you had been here, he might have shot you and I don't want to think about what could have happened if he had. You saved me from what he was planning; you did protect me," she told him honestly.

"Well, when you put it like that, it does make me feel better," he admitted, still pissed at himself for not being there to keep her from harm in the first place, "but I'm still upset," he added, shifting to lay on his side next to her, "in some ways I feel like I failed you," he said softly, finally admitting what he was most upset about.

"Oh, Noah," Rachel turned to face him, realizing she wasn't the only one dealing with their feelings, "you didn't fail me," she replied firmly, "you saved me. Don't beat yourself up about this; you protected me," she promised, "okay?"

Listening to what she said, he nodded and slid his arm around her back, pulling her closer to him, "okay," he blushed, "I, uh, guess you're not the only one dealing with issues."

"I understand that being a cop you have to be able to keep your cool under pressure, but given the situation, if you still kept calm and nothing bothered you about this, then I'd be worried," she admitted, "it's okay to have feelings or 'issues' about what happened. It shows you care about me, which makes me feel really good and tells me I've made the right decision to marry you, because I've finally found someone who loves me as much as I love them. I know we'll help each other through this," she explained, smiling at him as happy tears dripped from her eyes.

Noah brushed away her tears, "you're right. We will get through this together and I definitely do love you as much as you love me," he smiled, kissing her gently.

Rachel returned the kiss and snuggled against him, not caring that it was the middle of the day, but just as she got settled, she heard the front door open, causing her to jump, "what was that? Who's there?" She gasped.

Getting up, Noah moved over to the window and glanced outside curiously, seeing David's car sitting in the driveway, "David's home," he said.

"Oh okay," Rachel relaxed, "I'm glad it's not something else," she admitted standing up, "we should go say 'hi'. I don't know why he's home this early," she added.

"Maybe he wanted to see how his daughter's doing after what happened yesterday?" Noah suggested, following her out of her room.

Rachel blushed, "yes, I suppose you're right," she agreed, heading downstairs, "daddy? Are you home?" She asked, glancing around.

"In the kitchen, sweetheart," David replied, from the fridge.

"Why are home so early?" She asked, entering the kitchen and moving to give him a hug.

David wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, "besides wanting to see how you're doing with what happened, Lieutenant Cross called and asked if I'd be here when he came over," he explained.

"My boss, really?" Noah asked surprised.

"Yes. When he remembered that I said I was a psychologist, he called to ask me to be here. I told him you had insisted dad and I go to work today, but he asked me to get off early if I could. I want to be here for you. It's not going to be easy and the more familiar faces you have around, the better you'll feel," he told her.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded, "yes, you are right," she agreed, returning his hug before pulling away a little to reach for Noah's hand, "I've had an okay day, but there were a few issues... Noah helped me through them."

"I'm glad I can help and I'll always be here for you, too," Noah said honestly, lifting their joined hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to her's.

David smiled at them, "I know yesterday was rough for a while, but Noah, you saved our little girl and I don't know how Alan and I will ever be able to thank you enough for that."

Looking at Rachel and then to David, Noah smiled, "you're welcome, but you really don't need to thank me. Having her home safe and sound and knowing we have your blessing to get married is all the thanks I need," he explained truthfully.

Tears fell from Rachel's eyes at his words and she smiled at him, "Noah, that means so much to me. I love you," she murmured, wrapping her arms around him.

Noah gladly returned her hug, his eyes drifting closed, resting his chin on her shoulder, "I'll always love you, too, Rach."

...

A/N7: Hope you guys enjoyed. I thought Noah and Rachel deserved some alone time. Review and let me know what you think! In the next chapters: Lots of summary, the wedding and Noah and Rachel's future.

A/N8: Out of the Blue just had it's second birthday in mid-October, which was my first ever Puckleberry fic written and I have many more to come. To all of my readers, thank you for everything! For supporting my writing, for reading, reviewing, praying for my family when we were going through rough times, your words of encouragement; all of it! I honestly can't thank you enough for how you guys have helped me out these past few years! You all are amazing, I love you and I hope you all will continue this journey with me!

A/N9: Any Terra Nova watchers out there? I love it and am shipping Reynolds and Maddy, Reynon. I just wrote and posted a short one-shot called 'Alright' and am going to continue to write fics for them, too, but I promise it won't take away from my Puckleberry fics; I just love them enough to write fics for them, too.

...


	13. Chapter 13

Title: Broken Road, Part 13/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

...

**Reminder:** The rating of this story as a whole is 'T/PG-13'. Only chapters 10-12 are considered a rating of 'M/R' due to content.

...

Rachel was not looking forward to bringing up the events of the day before, but she knew she had to and the sooner she could talk to Noah's boss about what happened, the sooner she could push it aside to plan her and Noah's wedding. She was not going to let it ruin her and Noah's special day.

When Noah's boss showed up, Lieutenant Andy Cross brought along Matt, figuring he'd be another familiar face she'd be comfortable around, since Andy didn't know her as well. When the two officers took seats in the living room, Andy didn't bring up anything right away and wanted to see how Rachel was doing first, but unfortunately he had tough questions to ask.

He started out asking about Daniel and Rachel's relationship prior to Lima and then slowly the events of the past few weeks came up and Rachel explained everything she could think of. She kept calm and was relieved to have Noah, her daddy and Matt there as moral support and managed to get through a lot without crying, but when she started telling Andy about what happened the day before, her emotions got the best of her and she had to stop part of the way through to calm down.

In the comfort of Noah's arms, she relaxed enough to continue, wanting to finish and as she came to the end of what happened the day before, when Noah carried her out of the hotel room, she sighed in relief to be done.

Thanking her for everything she said, Andy stopped the voice recorder he was using to make sure he didn't miss anything and then suggested that he and Noah talk somewhere else, to give Rachel a chance to calm down, because she didn't need to go through that again. Rachel insisted she'd be fine, so Andy began asking Noah questions, starting from him and Rachel meeting up again and the interaction he had with Daniel the night he first showed up at the house.

When Noah got to the details of the rescue, a lot of the questions were more about procedure and how Noah handled the situation as an officer, but they also covered other details that were important to what went on.

Finishing up with his side of what happened, Andy stopped the recording and admitted he had what they needed. Talking with them for a little longer, the two needed to get back to the station, so they said 'goodbye' and Matt gave Rachel a hug and shook David and Noah's hands before the two on-duty officers left the house.

Once they were gone, Rachel plopped down on the couch and sighed in relief, "I'm so glad that's over."

"Me too," Noah agreed, sitting down next to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Now we can focus on the wedding. That's what's important to me right now. I just want this to be over," she admitted.

Noah nodded, "yeah, I feel the same way, babe. I hate to say this, though, but it's not over. He'll be charged and have to go to court. You may have to testify to what happened and I probably will, too. I'm sure he'll be found guilty and then he'll be sentenced to jail time."

Rachel took a deep breath and nodded, "yeah, I know. I'm familiar with the legal system because of dad. After what he did, he doesn't deserve compassion or freedom, but I know it's out of my hands now," she sighed, then leaned against him, "I want to put it aside and not let him ruin my life anymore. I want to plan our wedding, get married and enjoy life with you. When I'm with you, I feel like I can do anything."

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he smiled, "it makes me feel really good to hear that. It's understandable if you still need time, but if you are able to put it aside, that's great. I'm ready to plan our wedding, too. I'm looking forward to it," Noah said honestly.

"Good," she smiled. "We'll start soon. I just wanna relax for a bit, right now."

"Anything you want, babe," Noah nodded, kicking back on the couch, "kicking back sounds good right now."

...

Rachel and Noah invited his mom and sister over to join them for dinner and Arin and Deborah arrived around the same time Alan got home from work. They all knew that Noah's boss would be talking to them that day and though Alan asked how it went, no one asked too much about it, because they didn't want to make Rachel uncomfortable. Rachel appreciated the concern and when they all got a chance to sit down to dinner, she admitted that she wanted to focus on the wedding and was excited to get started on really planning it and not just talking about it.

"You know we'll help anyway we can," Alan said honestly.

"We will, too," Deborah added.

Rachel glanced at Noah and the others at the table, "I do actually have an important question for someone at the table," she admitted.

"Really? Who?" Noah asked, unsure what she was getting at.

Smiling at her fiancé, she took his hand and then looked around the table before her eyes landed on his sister, "would you be my maid of honor, Arin?"

Arin's eyes widened in shock, completely not expecting what she was just asked, "you want me to be your maid of honor?" She gasped, "are you serious?"

"Yes I am," Rachel nodded, smiling at her, "I really want you to be my maid of honor."

"Oh wow... I... I'd be honored," Arin replied, standing up and moving around the table to Rachel, "are you sure?"

Rachel stood up and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug, "I'm definitely sure," she grinned, "thank you."

"You're welcome... So what does a maid of honor do?" Arin asked, looking around.

"Basically you're the closest to the bride in planning and are involved in everything going on, so on the wedding day, Rachel doesn't have to worry about anything, because you'll be taking care of things," Deborah said.

"Exactly," Rachel nodded, "and don't freak out. I'm not going to put a ton of stress on you and I know you still have school and a Glee competition coming up, but on the weekends and evenings, when you can, I'd love if you could help me out. Mercedes, Quinn, Tina and Kurt are going to be big helps for things, too, so we'll all be working together. I just want you there with me," she explained.

Arin smiled and nodded, "I'll help anyway and any time I can," she promised, "this is awesome. Thank you, Rachel."

"You're welcome. I know we've talked about it before, but we've always seen each other as sisters and I really want my sister by my side," Rachel added with a smile.

"I'll be there," Arin promised, hugging her again.

...

Talking a little more about the wedding, Rachel got a piece of paper from the den and began writing notes of things she thought of and soon they were cleaning up dinner and finding seats in the living room to keep talking. Rachel gave in and went up to her room to get her notebook she was keeping all her notes in and returned downstairs, "okay, so we've made the guest list, but I want to go over it one more time and we need to figure out a time for the ceremony. That's the biggest thing. We know the date and the location, but once we know a time, we can start letting everyone on the list know about it, so we're not waiting until the last minute," Rachel explained, handing Noah the list.

"You're still going with New Year's Day, right?" Deborah asked, double checking that was still the day they were sticking with and when Rachel nodded, she continued, "a lot of people go to parties on New Year's Eve and will be up late, so you probably don't want it to be in the morning. You also don't want it to be too late at night, so people who live in other cities are not driving home super late, since it still is winter time," she explained.

"Both very good points," Rachel thought for a moment, "how about two in the afternoon? It's late enough after lunch time, that people can go to lunch before it and early enough that the ceremony, pictures, dancing and mingling will be done by dinner time, so people can leave and go to dinner if they want. Then we only have to serve snacks and simple things. We're not going to be serving alcohol, either, as a request from Principal Figgins, plus neither of us are heavy drinkers, so it'll be early enough that people might not want to drink anyway, especially, like you said, they're coming from out of town. I think having sparkling apple cider would be a good replacement for champagne," Rachel said, looking around.

"Fine with me," Noah replied, handing the list over to Deborah, "to it all and the list. I can't think of anyone else to add."

"Okay, good," Rachel nodded, "once mom, Arin and my dads look it over, it'll be settled and if you guys are okay with a two-pm time, then we can start letting people know."

"How do you want to announce it?" Arin asked, "I mean, I'm friends with most of our family on Facebook, so it's as simple as creating an invitation on there to let them know."

"It is pretty short notice for printed invitations, so I was thinking of doing that myself, for my family and for those who don't have Facebook or some sort of online contact, we can call them. I still want to call some of my relatives or at least have dad and daddy do it, because it may come to a huge shock to them," Rachel giggled.

When Arin and Deborah had glanced over the list, they handed to Alan, and then Deborah laughed lightly, "oh yeah it will be. I've already told my brother and sister that Noah's getting married. I didn't go into details and they're shocked, but happy for you guys," she explained.

"Our family is the same," Alan agreed, glancing over the list and passing it to David.

"You've already told them?" Rachel gasped.

"Well, we told them you got engaged just after Thanksgiving and were planning for a wedding soon. We didn't want to tell them the day until we'd talked about it more," David explained, "none of your cousins have gotten married yet, so it's a big deal for our family. We didn't want to call them up on a weekend and be like 'oh by the way, Rachel's getting married on Sunday', so we figured if they at least were prepared, when we told them the date and time, it wouldn't be as big of a shock."

"Same with ours," Deborah nodded, "and now that my siblings know that Noah's getting married, when Arin does do that on Facebook, they won't freak out."

"Oh, wow, well, that is true, I didn't think about it that way," Rachel agreed, retaking her seat next to Noah, "I'm glad you've told them... Wait!" Rachel gasped, "that mean's Anna knows. I wanted to be the one to tell her, because I want her to be one of my bridesmaids."

"Who's Anna?" Noah asked.

"My cousin. She's my age, she looks a lot like me and we were close growing up and still are. She's a high school English teacher in Columbus, and has been busy, so I haven't had a chance to talk to her much, other than a few text messages and one phone call since I've been home... Oh, she's going to be so mad," Rachel groaned.

"I told my sister not to say anything to Anna, so you could tell her yourself," David admitted honestly. "I know you two are close."

"You did?" Rachel looked at him, "that's good... I suppose if she would have found out I would have already heard from her," she admitted, "I'll call her tonight. I don't want her to hear from anyone else."

"Good idea. The sooner you let her know the better," David nodded.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed and took a deep breath, "so the list and time works?"

"Yes it does," Alan agreed.

"I think it's fine. Though, I do think there may be people from Temple, my office, and I'm sure David and Alan's, too, that may be interested in coming, since they've know you guys a while, too, and some may bring their kids. Plus since you're having it at school, maybe some of your former teachers will come. By this list you've got about seventy-five guests, so I'd plan for maybe an additional twenty-five to fifty, just to be on the safe side," Deborah explained.

"That makes sense," Rachel nodded, "and others are welcome to come. I just want to make sure these guests," she held up the list, "are invited. The rest can come if they want. We'll have room. It's not like we'll be in a place that only holds a certain amount of people."

"Yeah, but we need to have an idea for size, so we know how much food we need, drinks, that kind of stuff, too," Noah told her.

"I know," Rachel replied, "when we plan the wedding, we'll tell the caterers and Finn's mom, who will make the cake, I hope, that we're looking at about 125 people. That way, if we have extra, it's better than running out."

"Okay, that works," Noah nodded, sitting back.

"This is awesome. We've got a date, time, place and the guest list is finalized. We're going with red and white as our colors and Kurt is making my dress. I was thinking that if Noah and I can go through some of this and figure it out tomorrow, maybe Friday night, we could host the party, like Matt and Mercedes hosted a few weeks ago, here and it would be a good time for the girls and I to discuss wedding plans. To see who is up for helping with what," Rachel admitted.

"Sounds like a good idea," Noah shrugged, "I'm open for anything."

"And I want you both over, too," Rachel added, looking at Deborah and Arin.

"I'll be here," Arin promised.

"If you want me to be, I will," Deborah replied.

"Great! Then just come over Friday after school and work. I'll call my cousin tonight and see if she wants to come up, too. I don't know if she'll be able to, but if not, we can meet with her later. I know she's gonna want to pitch in," Rachel explained.

"She's a teacher?" Noah asked and when Rachel nodded he went on, "well, you might want to call her soon. It's like seven-thirty. If you wait much longer it's gonna be kinda late to call, since tomorrow is a school day."

"Oh, yeah. I should go do that now," Rachel agreed.

...

Admitting that she still had homework to finish, Arin and Deborah decided to head home since it was getting late. The two said 'goodnight' to Noah and the Berrys and once they were gone, Noah and Rachel went to change into comfortable clothes and returned to the living room. David and Alan had gone into the den, giving Noah and Rachel some time alone in the living room and when the couple was seated on the couch, Noah picked up the TV remote, while Rachel reached for her phone.

"You mind if I watch TV while you call?" He asked.

"No, just keep it low so I can hear," she said.

"No problem," Noah nodded, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. Once he leaned back a little, he settled in and turned the TV on, lowering the volume a little like Rachel asked.

Seeing how he was sitting, Rachel shifted so she was leaning against the arm rest of the couch, with a pillow behind her back for support and then draped her legs over his lap. Settling in, she pulled up Anna's number and hit the 'call' button, feeling nervous butterflies in her stomach as she waited for her to answer, but was also excited to tell her the great news. On the third ring, Rachel heard a click and some rustling, before a familiar voice greeted her, "hey cousin! How's your vacation going?" Anna asked.

"Aside from a few issues, it's been great!" Rachel grinned, "how are you?"

"I'm alright. Reading through some research paper rough drafts right now," she admitted, "so I'm a little frazzled."

Rachel laughed lightly, "I do not envy you one bit."

"I know," Anna joined with her laugh, "but it's not like a writer can really make money until they actually publish something, so until that happens, teaching is what I can do to make money," she explained. "So what's up? I'm sure you didn't call to tease me about what I'm doing. I haven't heard from you since your 'Happy Thanksgiving' text. Are you and Noah still denying your feelings for each other?" She asked with a grin, knowing that Rachel had met up with him the day she'd returned to Lima and they had been spending a lot of time together. She also knew her cousin always had feelings for Noah.

"No we're not," Rachel smiled, "we actually made it official on Thanksgiving."

"Really? You finally did? That's awesome!" Anna said happily.

"It is. And that's not all," Rachel started, taking a deep breath, "you know my break-up with, um..."

"Oh yeah, I remember," Anna sighed, still pissed about Daniel cheating on Rachel and not knowing what happened the day before.

"Well, I've done a lot of thinking since I've been home and put some things in perspective and Noah helped me realize that I need to do what I want to do in life and not let someone else tell me what to do," she started.

"That's great, Rachel. You need to. It's your life. Only you can control it," Anna said honestly.

Rachel smiled, "so I proposed to him and he said 'yes'."

"You did what?" Alan exclaimed loudly, "you proposed? As in asking him to marry you?"

"I did. We got engaged Saturday," she explained calmly, but couldn't help laugh lightly at her reaction.

"So you're engaged? Is this some kind of joke?" Anna asked, unsure if she was serious.

"It's not a joke, Noah and I are really engaged," Rachel replied, reaching out to take Noah's hand in hers.

"Oh wow," Anna sat back, "that's just... wow. Congratulations, Rachel. I am happy for you. I'm just really shocked."

Rachel smiled, "thanks and you're not the only one that feels that way. That's the general consensus. Noah's partner is one of our friends from Glee at McKinley, and he's married to one of the girls we knew, so on Sunday, after we went to get an engagement ring and wedding rings, we invited our friends over from high school that Noah hangs out with the most and we let them all know. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to let you know, though," she admitted, feeling bad she didn't let her know sooner.

"Don't be. It's what? Four days? I think I can get over it. I am really happy for you. You've gotta send me a picture of the ring," Anna grinned, "and you bought wedding rings so soon?"

"Well, there's a reason for that. You know how I'm home until the first week in January and while I'm here I pretty much don't have much planned?" Rachel asked.

As soon as Rachel asked that, Anna had a feeling she knew where this was going, "yes."

"We've decided to get married on January first," she explained, "then we'll go back to New York for a few weeks while I start practices for 'Mamma Mia!' and we'll figure out living arrangements later."

"January first?" Anna gasped, "wow... are you pregnant?"

"No, I'm not pregnant," Rachel laughed, knowing her cousin was just teasing her, "we just really want to get married and since I'm home, I've got time to plan for it. We already have the guest list done, the time and place and a few other details starting to get worked out," she explained. "We decided to get married at our high school and the principal is letting us use McKinley for free, since it's during winter break, and it's great because we can have the ceremony and reception there."

"You're getting married in your high school? Wow! I don't think I've ever heard of that, but if your principal is letting you have it for free, that's awesome," Anna replied.

"It is," Rachel agreed, "and there's more."

"More? Like what?" Anna wondered.

"I'd like you to be a bridesmaid. It'd really mean a lot," Rachel said with a smile.

"Oh, I'd love to be!" Anna said, then sighed in relief, "for a moment there I thought you were gonna ask me to be your maid of honor. I honestly don't have the time to devote to this, like you deserve in a maid of honor, but I can definitely be a bridesmaid, as long as you're okay with me not being around much, at least not until school is on break."

Rachel nodded, "I totally understand. I know you have other things going on and I want you there, so that's why I picked you to be a bridesmaid."

"I'll help however I can, just let me know," Anna replied. "Who else is going to be up there with you?" She asked.

"I'm going to ask Tammy to be a bridesmaid and I've already asked Arin, Noah's sister, to be my maid of honor. She's like a little sister to me, too," Rachel explained.

"Oh yeah! That's a great idea. I remember you mentioning her last week when we got a chance to talk on the phone. You said you both had talked and admitted you two were like the sisters neither of you had, right?" Anna asked.

"That's it exactly," Rachel smiled. "Wow, I don't remember everything that we talked about last week and you do. That's great!"

Anna laughed lightly, "we talked on the phone like Tuesday, so it hasn't been too long ago, but sounds like you've had a lot going on the past week, so I understand."

"That's an understatement," Rachel murmured, sighing a little.

"What's wrong?" Anna wondered.

"You know how he was sending me flowers and had showed up here?" She asked softly, knowing she'd told her about them.

"Yeah. And the reason why Noah has been staying at your dads' place is because of him showing up, why do you bring it up? Did something else happen?"

"This really isn't a conversation for the phone, but yes. He showed up yesterday... He," Rachel took a deep breath and squeezed Noah's hand she was still holding, "he had a gun and he forcibly took me from here. Then took me to a hotel and was going to... He tried to rape me," she explained as calmly as she could, feeling tears in her eyes, but really get it out so she could know.

"Oh my God," Anna gasped, "are you alright? Do you... This happened yesterday?"

"Yeah it did," Rachel took a deep breath. "I'm... I'm okay... Still shaken up and it upsets me, but Noah and his team saved me before he could do anything serious. I'm just trying to put it behind me so I can live my life and plan our wedding. Noah's been amazing and his boss actually gave him the rest of the week off so he could take care of me. His boss also came over this afternoon to get our statements about what happened. It's tough to talk about, but Noah, dad, daddy, Arin, Noah's mom have helped out and our friends came over last night to help cheer me up. It's definitely not what I wanted to deal with while at home."

"Of course it isn't, but I'm glad Noah and his team was able to stop him before anything happened. I can understand it being difficult to talk about, especially since it just happened yesterday, but you sounded fine earlier, so you seem to be dealing with this pretty well. It also sounds like you have an awesome group of friends and a great guy, who I can't wait to meet and thank in person for saving you," Anna admitted.

"Noah is amazing. I can't wait for you two to meet, also," she squeezed his hand and smiled at him, "we're inviting some people over Friday evening for dinner and to start really planning the wedding and I was hoping you could come up, so you could meet him then. I know it's short notice, but maybe? You can even stay here the night, if you're worried about driving home late."

Anna thought for a moment, "I can leave as soon as school is out on Friday. I'll be up there about five. I also will take you up on the offer to stay the night. It'll be great to catch up and hang out; we haven't done that in a long time."

"I know," Rachel agreed, "so you're coming up?"

"I am," Anna replied with a smile, "I'll see you Friday."

"That's great!" Rachel grinned, "do you remember how to get to our place?"

"Yeah, I do," Anna nodded, "and with that, I should let you go. I've got papers to continue looking through and it's getting close to bedtime," she admitted.

"Okay, talk to you later and see you Friday," Rachel replied.

"You will. Love ya, cousin," Anna said.

"Love you, too, cousin," Rachel replied, smiling at their words and then pulled the phone from her ear and hit the 'end' button.

"Wow, you two are close. I would never tell a cousin I love them," Noah smirked.

"We are close," Rachel nodded, closing her eyes and relaxing a moment.

Reaching to her, Noah rested his hand on her cheek, "you did good talking to her about what happened."

Rachel rested her hand on his and smiled, "thanks. It still is hard to talk about, but I did want her to know and I know she doesn't need to know every detail. It would have been a whole lot harder if you hadn't been here," she added.

"You don't have to worry about me not being here, because I'll always be," he assured her.

"I know," she smiled, sliding closer to him, with her legs still over his lap, and kissed him, "I love you."

"I love you, too, baby," he replied, wrapping his arms around her to hold close, "always."

...

Relaxing on the couch for a while, Rachel's dads soon came in to say 'goodnight' and headed up to bed. Noah and Rachel stayed downstairs for a little longer, but went up to her room by ten and got ready for bed, "you know what I was thinking?" Rachel asked, crawling under her blankets.

Noah smirked, "hard telling, but I bet it has something to do with the wedding," he admitted.

"You'd be right," she nodded, giggling lightly.

"What were you thinking?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her when she got settled.

"Remember the shoes we wore a lot during Glee performances? The black Converse ones?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, what about them?" Noah nodded, raising a curious eyebrow at her.

"I think our entire bridal party should wear them instead of dress shoes. They'd be more comfortable and it'd be something from our past that meant something," she explained.

Noah eyed her for a moment, at first wanting to laugh at wearing tennis shoes to their wedding, but then as he thought about it, he nodded, "that's a really good idea. I love it," he smiled.

"Really? You don't think it's crazy?" She asked surprised.

"I never said that," he smirked, "it is crazy, but it's a good crazy. It makes us original and you're right, they will be more comfortable than wearing dress shoes. I say let's do it. Though I don't know how we'll be able to find like eight pairs of matching ones in a month," he admitted, "especially because," he nudged her leg with his foot, "the guys and I kinda have big feet."

Rachel thought for a moment and nodded, "well, I don't know about Columbus, but I know there is a Converse retail store in New York, so it could mean a trip there. It actually might be a good idea to go there anyway. I can go see Kurt and he can get all the measurements he needs for my dress and you can meet my friends. I'm sure they'll love to meet you before they show up for the wedding," she explained. "I'm assuming you're having Matt, Mike and Finn as your side of the bridal party, right?"

"Yep," he nodded, "Finn will be my best man and Matt and Mike will be groomsmen. That's easy... As for a trip to New York... When?" He asked, "because I've got weekends and the rest of this week off and that's it."

"I know," Rachel nodded, "it's only a two hour drive and a two hour flight there. We could leave Saturday, spend the night and come home late Sunday," she explained.

"So you're serious about this; a trip to New York in two days?" He wondered, "tomorrow is Thursday, right?"

"Yes it is. And Anna is going to be staying Friday night, so she could drop us off at the airport on her way home. We'll have to make sure that we manage our time while we're in New York, and find someone to pick us up on Sunday, but it'll be fun to go on a trip together. And like I said, we can see Kurt so he can get all the measurements he needs to make my dress. I was only able to give him a few and promised to get him the rest later, but if we go, he can take the ones he needs," she explained.

Noah thought about her offer and weighed their options, "babe, I get it, but I'm thinking of how much it's going to cost. The flight alone is going to be what? Eight-hundred dollars for two round-trip tickets?" He asked, unsure of the price off the top of his head, "I'm not saying I don't have the money, but that's a lot to be dropping on a thirty-six hour trip, especially to buy shoes. I'm sure we could find them online or in Columbus and my mom or one of the girls should be able to help you and Kurt get your measurements, right? I wouldn't mind the trip to get out of here for a while, but we should think about this and talk to our families a little before we do, you know?"

Listening to what he said, Rachel realized she was definitely getting ahead of herself, "you're right," she nodded, "I guess I just got excited about it. Actually, another part of the reason why we should go there to get them, is because one of my old roommates, Brooke, is the manager of the Converse store," she told him, "I thought if we went there, she might be able to get us a better deal than if we ordered online or went to a store around here."

"That I didn't know," he agreed, shifting a little, while still keeping his arms around her, "that is a good idea and I'm not trying to talk you out of going, because I know we have a short time to plan our wedding, so we have to do things quick, but we've been through a lot this week and I know you seem like you're doing alright, but I just wanna make sure you're thinking this through before we jump into that trip. Are you really ready to go back to NYC so soon after what _he_ did to you, with all the memories you still have?" He asked softly.

At his question, Rachel thought about what he meant and took a deep breath, really thinking on the answer, then nodded, "yes I am. Like we talked abut earlier today. I need to 'get back on the horse', so I shouldn't hide from going back there. Besides, I'll be with you and we'll only be seeing my real friends, including Kurt," she told him, "but you're right. We need to think a little on this before we jump into anything. One or both of us should get up to talk to my dads before they go to work and then catch your mom sometime before she's off work tomorrow, so by tomorrow night we can make flight arrangements, if we do still decide to go," she paused, "I was also thinking of calling Rabbi Goodman in the morning, or having you do it, so we can set up a time to meet with him; maybe on Friday morning, if he's available, too," she added.

"I can do that before my appointment. He knows me better than you, I think. As for the trip, what you said sounds good. I don't mind meeting your friends, but I just don't wanna jump into it until we talk it over some more," he pressed a kiss to her forehead and then her lips, "right now, I think we should just sleep and then talk in the morning."

Snuggling closer to him, she nodded and kissed him lovingly, "sounds like a good idea to me. I need to stop planning in bed, but thoughts just pop into my head when I'm relaxed."

"That's what I figured," he rubbed her back gently and kissed her again, "love you, babe. Sleep well and I'm here if you need me."

"I know you are and thanks. I love you, too, Noah," she smiled, feeling safe in his arms as she let her eyes drift closed to settle in to sleep.

...

A/N7: Hope you all enjoyed! I'm excited to start writing them getting into wedding plans, but I promise I won't go into every detail. I think the next few chapters will be mixed with summary to get them closer to the holidays and the wedding. Lots of fun stuff coming up!

A/N8: When my best friend's little sister got married a few years ago, she, her now husband and their entire bridal party, wore Converse shoes with various colored laces. Her favorite color is orange, so she wore orange with navy blue laces. Her now husband wore navy blue with orange laces and and the rest of the bridal party wore brown Converse with various colored laces. I thought it was the best idea ever and knew I wanted to use it in this fic! So, thanks to her for the idea!

A/N9: I'm sorry it took so long to update. Between the holidays, 'Starlight' being stolen, getting sidetracked with a soon-to-be posted WIP, personal things going on and then my other laptop having issues and just recently crashing, it's been a long few months. I promise I did not mean for it to be over two months since I last updated and it won't be that long again. I have not forgotten you guys! Thank you for all the support and hope you guys stick with me!

**Family note:** My mom finished her cancer treatments back in December 2010. Today, she had her one year check-up and her doctor said everything is perfect, she's completely cancer free! WHOHOO! And this month is cervical cancer awareness month, so she gets to say she's cervical cancer free in the same month... Awesome! :D

...


	14. Chapter 14

Title: Broken Road, Part 14/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

...

**Please read:** After posting Chapter 13, I realized that this story, as a whole, is 'T/PG-13'. Only chapters 10, 11 and 12 focus on and deal with Rachel's attempted rape. In thinking about the direction for this story, I realized I won't have any adult content in it and don't want to hide 'T/PG-13' content behind a higher rating, just for a few chapters, so I have returned the main rating on FanFiction dot net to 'T' and have reposted those chapters to add a special note about them having higher rated content, in case that is a concern for others.

...

Rachel woke up by six in the morning, with her mind filled with thoughts and ideas for their wedding and impromptu trip to NYC. Immediately, she got up to get her notebook and returned to bed, jotting everything down on a blank page, so she wouldn't forget, while Noah continued to sleep next to her. She knew she should give herself some time to wake up before she jumped right into planning again, but she was excited now that things were really being decided for the wedding and not just being talked about.

"_Right now I need to focus on my dress, all the shoes we've got to get, because I know those are going to be the hardest to find; I sure hope Brooke can help us,_" she thought, flipping through her notes, "_I need to ask Tammy if she'll be my other bridesmaid, too. If we go to New York, I can do that there, if not, I'll have to call her soon to ask. I wonder if Noah has asked the guys to be part of the wedding, or he's just assuming... Or do those four have some sort of unwritten bond that makes it an automatic thing?_" She smirked at her idea and returned her focus to her notes, "_if Noah calls Rabbi Goodman today, I hope we can get in to see him tomorrow, so that will be settled. We need to go to the courthouse to get a license. We better find out if there is a waiting period, too. Dad will know,_" she wrote a quick note in the corner of one of her pages to ask him, "_I also need to get the paperwork to change my name. That's going to be a bit of a mess, but at least my stage name is my first and middle name, so I don't have to worry about that. I guess the other big thing we need to figure out is dresses and suits. I don't think Noah and the guys need to wear an elaborate tux, but still a black suit and their ties should be red, since our colors are red and white._"

Setting her notepad down, she got up again, this time to get her laptop and returned to bed, being careful that she didn't wake Noah, then opened it up and went online to the Converse website, "_okay let's see. What are those shoes called?_" She wondered, scrolling through the menus until she saw a picture of them and clicked on it, "_wow, I didn't realize they came in all those colors,_" she skimmed through the color selections until she came to the black and white ones they always wore and next to the black option was red and as she clicked on it, she gasped, "oh they're perfect!"

Feeling movement in bed, Noah had slowly began to wake up, concerned about Rachel, but when he heard her return to bed and start writing on paper, he knew what she was doing - wedding plans. He loved that she was focused on them and seemed to be through the worst part of what happened a few days prior, but he still wished she'd wait until a little later in the day to start working on them.

Staying where he was, he tried to doze back to sleep, even though she'd gotten up and returned with her laptop. Keeping his eyes closed, he hadn't seen what she was doing, but when he heard her gasp, his eyes flew open, and then he groaned at the bright computer screen, "babe, what gives? It's not even seven in the morning."

"I'm sorry, Noah, but look! They're prefect!" She grinned, turning the computer so he could see the screen.

"Whoa! Hold up, I just opened my eyes," he immediately closed his eyes to block them from the bright screen. Rubbing and opening them again, he squinted at the screen, "I thought you wanted to wear the black ones," he commented, vaguely making out the shape of the red and white Converse shoes.

"Well, I didn't realize they came in all these colors and they have red ones. It's the McKinley red we're going with and they have white soles and a few thin black stripes around the sides, so they'd tie in with black suits perfectly. They still will be something from our time in Glee, but our version; it's the shoes I remember, not the color, because we wore all white once and one time we wore all black, too," she explained, then saw him squinting and blushed, quickly closing the laptop, "I'm so sorry," she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead, "I didn't mean to wake you up. I just woke up and had ideas and thought I'd get an early start."

Smirking at her change in mood when she realized what she'd done, he shrugged, "yeah, I get it," he agreed, "but it is a day off for me, so I don't usually like getting up extra early... Seven or eight, maybe, but definitely not at," he glanced at the clock, "six-thirty."

Rachel shifted things so she could lay back down next to him, "I'm sorry," she said again, kissing him gently, "forgive me?"

Noah eyed her, but smiled, "yeah, I can do that," he agreed, slipping and arm around her, "I guess we did go to bed a little early last night."

"True," she nodded, "and I did want to get up and talk to my dads about our trip before they went to work, which is part of the reason I didn't stay asleep."

"Oh yeah," he nodded, now more awake than he had been.

"Do you not want to go?" Rachel wondered, concerned that it was rushing things.

"Go to New York? I don't mind, but it's for the reason. Shoes," he smirked, "I don't think I've ever made a special trip anywhere for a pair of shoes."

Rachel couldn't help giggling lightly, "well, when you put it like that it does sound a little crazy, but shoes is just one of the reasons. Kurt, I don't think, is coming home until closer to Christmas and I can't wait until then to get him my measurements, so there is that."

"Yeah," Noah shifted to sit up on his elbow a little, "I know. And I can meet your friends, too," he replied, "which will be cool to meet them before they show up for the wedding," he agreed.

"It will be," she nodded and relaxed in bed, "do you want to get up with me and go talk to dad and daddy or are you going to stay in bed?"

"I'll get up," he told her, "I'm already awake," he smirked, kissing her forehead, "because someone decided to work in bed."

Blushing at his comment, she ducked her head, "I said I was sorry. I had thoughts I wanted to write down and then I started looking through notes and realized I should look online to find out what Converse I wanted," she explained.

"You know I'm just teasing you. I understand. I get we have to make arrangements as soon as we can and something as big as these shoes will be important, because we may have to special order them. How many are we getting anyway?" He wondered.

"Well," she reached for her notebook, "the bridal party makes eight, and I think our parents should have them, so that's three more, and Tina, Mercedes, Quinn and Kurt may want to wear them, too, so that's another four, my other three friends in New York also may want to have them, so that could be another three, so it could be close to twenty."

Noah's mouth dropped open in shock, seeing huge dollar signs flash in his mind, "hang on," he murmured, shifting and getting out of bed. Heading to the bathroom to take care of business, it gave himself a moment to gather his thoughts and when he returned to her room, he grabbed for a pair of sweat pants to put on, "twenty pairs? Do you realize that those are like fifty bucks each?" He wondered, trying not to freak out.

Rachel nodded, expecting his reaction, but had a plan, "yes, I do," she motioned to her computer, "which is why I was hoping Brooke could help us get a discount. Also, I figured we'd only buy the shoes for our bridal party, my dads and your mom. That's eleven pairs and then if anyone else wants them, they'll have to pay for them. They can either give us the money on Friday night or pay us back when we get home as long as we make sure we get their shoe size."

"Oh, well, that's not so bad. I don't mind doing that," he agreed, relaxing, "I just was thinking that's a lot of money for shoes. I do know that either way the bridal party would have to get matching shoes, but for the others, it'd be their own choice."

"Exactly, which is why I'm fine with buying them for our bridal party and parents. Speaking of bridal party, have you even asked the guys or are you waiting to do that?" She asked curiously.

"I've asked them. I asked Matt on Monday at work and then talked to Finn and Mike on the phone the same day, before you and I met at McKinley," he explained.

"Awesome. I can check that off the list," she smiled, picking up the paper and flipping to that page and writing something down, "great! Let's go talk to dad and daddy and then when they leave, we can get ready for the day. Don't forget you said you'd call Rabbi Goodman before your doctor's appointment."

"I won't," he assured her, "I'll call him after we shower and get dressed."

"Okay, that works," she nodded and slid from bed, grabbing warm clothes to put on since it was still early and would be cool in the house.

Throwing on a hoodie and slipping his feet into tennis shoes, Noah waited for Rachel and then the two headed downstairs to find David was already downstairs, but Alan hadn't come down yet. "Morning, daddy," Rachel smiled, moving to greet him with a hug and a kiss.

"Good morning you two, I didn't expect you would be up so early," David admitted, returning her hug and nodding at Noah.

"Neither did I," Noah replied.

Rachel giggled lightly, "I had some ideas I wanted to write down and then got my laptop out, so that woke him up and we also wanted to talk to you and dad before you go to work."

"Oh yeah? About what?" David asked, pouring a cup of coffee.

"A quick trip to New York this weekend," she said simply.

"Whoa? Really? Why?" David wondered.

"Can we wait until dad comes down, so I don't have to explain twice?" She asked hopeful.

"Of course," David nodded, "he should be down in a few minutes."

...

When Alan finally joined them, he also was surprised to see Noah and Rachel up, but she told him the same thing she'd said to David and once they all had coffee and various forms of breakfast, she and Noah began to explain, Rachel doing most of the talking.

David and Alan were just as concerned about Rachel returning to New York, so soon after everything happened, but she assured them she'd be fine and Noah was going with her, she'd help her out if she had problems.

The dads had several questions about such a sudden trip, but once Rachel got a chance to explain everything, including meeting with Kurt to get all the measurements for her dress, and her shoe idea, with one of her friends managing the New York store, David and Alan agreed that if they were serious about wanting to go there, they'd help them out with the cost of the trip and shoes, so they didn't have to spend so much all up front.

Appreciating the offer, they took them up on it and agreed that once they got home from work that night, they'd make the flight arrangements. Rachel mentioned her cousin staying Friday night, so she could take them to the airport, but her dads suggested something else. She and Noah could take her rental car to the airport, return it and when they come back, rent another one. Rachel hadn't thought of that idea, and she and Noah liked it, so they decided to do that because they wouldn't need anyone to come pick them up.

Finishing up their conversation, David and Alan had to get going to work, so they said 'goodbye' and promised to help them with everything that night.

Once the two dads were gone, Rachel and Noah headed upstairs to get ready for the day. As promised, when Noah finished getting dressed, he called Rabbi Goodman and was able to set up a meeting with him the next day, to talk about their plans and the ceremony. Rachel was happy they could see him so soon and check that off her list, and then created a text message to send to Finn, Quinn, Matt, Mercedes, Tina, Mike, Dave, Will and Emma about the party at her house the next night around six and within an hour she had a response back that they all would be there.

Glad they all could make it, Rachel got an idea and decided to call Tammy, the first real friend she made in New York, to ask her to be a bridesmaid, just so it was done and she didn't forget to ask her. When Tammy answered, she admitted she didn't have a long time to talk, so Rachel got to the point of her call and she happily agreed to be a bridesmaid. Keeping the trip to New York a secret for the moment and also not saying anything about what happened in the past few days, Rachel and Tammy hung up and she was relieved that she accepted.

Noah was glad things seemed to be coming together well for everything and hoped their trip New York was successful. He was looking forward to seeing somewhere besides Ohio, even if it was only for a weekend. He'd grown to like being in Ohio and wasn't sure he'd ever be able to leave; especially with his job. He knew it wasn't just a job until he found something better; it was a career to him and it wasn't something he could just change with a quick decision and knew he'd have a lot of thinking to be doing really soon.

...

With everything they were doing in the morning, time ticked by and soon it was time to leave for his doctor's appointment. Once the two arrived at his clinic, he checked in and they took a seat in the waiting room. "I don't remember this being this name," Rachel admitted.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I remember this clinic building being here, but I don't remember it being called 'St. Rita's Medical Clinic'," she explained.

"Oh, yeah about three year's ago the hospital bought the building when the clinic that had been here moved across town. Now most of the doctors who just saw daily patients and didn't deal with emergencies or surgeries, moved over here to free up space for more hospital rooms," he motioned to the hospital. "Mom now works here. Better hours and doesn't have to deal with emergencies anymore," he added.

"I bet that must be a relief," Rachel commented, "for her and you and your sister. I've heard horror stories about working in an ER."

"Yeah, it can be scary," he agreed.

Nodding, she was quiet a moment and then took his hand, "thanks for doing this. You don't have to, but I appreciate it," she said softly, knowing the reason why he had the appointment in the first place.

He smiled at her and squeezed her hand gently, "you don't have to thank me. I want to do this for us," he assured her.

Before either could say anymore, a nurse came out and called his name, so he got up and Rachel went with him. Pausing to get his weight and height, they went the rest of the way towards an exam room, passing a nursing station and heard a familiar voice. Looking over the counter, they found Deborah was talking on the phone; she gave them a curious look, waving at them, before returning to whoever she was talking to.

Inside the exam room, the nurse took Noah's vitals and then excused herself, promising the doctor would be in shortly, "mom will be in within two minutes," he grinned.

"She was working. Didn't you tell her why you were coming here?" Rachel wondered.

"I didn't even tell her about the appointment," he smirked.

"Noah! How can you hide something like that from her?"

"I wasn't hiding. I just had other things on my mind besides the appointment," he replied, hearing a knock and then looked up to see his mom come in, "hey mom," he said, turning to Rachel, "told you."

"I swear, I thought he told you!" Rachel said honestly.

Deborah laughed lightly, "well, I've gotten used to the surprise at seeing him come in for appointments, though usually it's for a work physical or because he's sick. This time, not so sure. Everything alright?"

"Yeah," Noah nodded, "just want to get _the_ test done."

"The test? What one?" She asked, not realizing what he was hinting at.

"I wanna make sure I'm clean before Rachel and I have sex for the first time," he said deciding to not beat around the bush, "she's never done that before, and it's been a while since I was tested, so I just want to make sure I'm not gonna give her anything."

Though used to her job as a nurse, most things didn't make her blush, but as a mom, things were different, so hearing her son talk about that, her cheeks turned as red as the shoes they had been looking at that morning, "I see. That's a very good idea," she smiled, giving him a half hug, "and also makes me very happy to know Arin has you to look up to," she added, moving to sit next to Rachel, "I really hope she follows your lead."

Rachel smiled at her, "me too and I'm sure she will," she replied.

"When is your lunch, mom?" Noah asked, wanting to change the subject. "Would you like to go to lunch after I'm done here? Rachel and I have something we need to talk to you about," he said.

"Oh?" She glanced at them and didn't seem to feel like anything was wrong, "my lunch starts at twelve-thirty and goes until one-thirty, so we could. You should be done by then," she admitted, glancing at her watch to see it was just before noon. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, nothing to worry about," Rachel assured her.

Before Deborah could respond, Noah's doctor stepped into the room, "hey, Noah. I hear congratulations are in order," Dr. Stevens commented. "You're getting married. Is this your fiancé?" He asked, seeing Rachel next to Deborah.

"It is," Noah nodded, taking a moment to introduce them.

"So, what brings you in today, because you don't seem sick," the doctor asked curiously.

"Given my history of sleeping around and knowing that Rachel's never been with anyone, I'd like you to check and see if I'm clean. I know I was a few years ago, but I have been with a few since then; not in a while, though. I definitely don't want to give Rachel something," Noah explained.

"I see. That's very understandable and a good idea," he nodded, sitting down to take some notes, "do you have any symptoms or concerns that would make you think you have anything wrong or is this just a precaution?"

"Just a precaution," Noah assured him and everyone in the room.

"Good, okay," the doctor filled out a piece of paper, checking off several options, placed a sticker corresponding to Noah's file onto it and then double checked he had everything selected that he wanted tested, "I don't see a need to do an exam, so just take this to the lab and they'll know what to do. We should have the results in a few days and if anything comes up, I'll let you know," he told him, handing him the paper.

Noah nodded, taking the paper, "alright. Thanks."

...

Since they didn't need to come back to the room, Noah and Rachel stepped out first, followed by Dr. Stevens and Deborah. Everyone coming to a stop next to the nurse's station, Deborah said she'd return to work while Noah went to the lab and when he was done, they could come get her and then they'd go to lunch. Nodding at her suggestion, Rachel and Noah headed out of the office and Rachel followed him to the lab. Noah checked in and then they took a seat in the small waiting area with a few others.

Waiting patiently, Noah was called in just a short time, so Rachel waited for him where they were sitting. He was gone about ten minutes and when he returned he had a piece of medical tape holding down a cotton ball where his blood had been drawn. Getting his jacket on, the two went to get Deborah and soon the three were on their way to a local restaurant to have lunch.

The couple talked to his mom about their idea and the plans to go to New York for the weekend and her reaction was just like David and Alan's, concerned, but understood why and was supportive of the trip.

Glad she was okay with their ideas, they finished up lunch and got her back to the clinic just before her lunch break was over, promising she and Arin would be over once she got home from work.

As soon as she was inside the building, Noah pulled away from the curb and though Rachel thought he was going right back to her place, she realized he wasn't when he took a different turn, "Noah, where are we going?" She asked curiously.

"I want dessert," he commented with a grin, "so we're going to get ice cream."

Rachel laughed lightly, "ice cream? But it's almost freezing outside."

"Good thing I'm around to keep you warm," he winked at her.

"There is that," she smiled, "I suppose we could go get something, though we both should be watching what we eat. With the holidays coming up, it's going to be hard to steer clear of all the sweet stuff and we are getting married a week after Christmas," she reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. I like to splurge about once a month on one of the fancy Cold Stone concoctions, and I think we should go out and treat ourselves; we've got time to burn the calories," he replied, glancing at her as he pulled up to the ice cream shop he was talking about.

"I've never been here before," she admitted, looking inside. "How does this work?"

Noah raised a curious eyebrow at her, "well, you go in, and they have pre-made combinations you can order or you can make your own. You pick what kind of ice cream you want, along with what you want in it and they mix it all together on a cold stone, then you get it in a cup, cone or other choices," he explained, "simple. Come on."

"Oh, so it's like a frozen yogurt bar," she commented hopping out and meeting him in the front of the SUV.

"I suppose it is. Never been to one of those," he replied, taking her hand and guiding her towards the door. Pulling it open, they stepped inside and he motioned to the line, but she made him go first, "it's not that hard, babe."

"Yes, I know, but I don't have any idea what I want. Give me a minute," she grinned, glancing up at the large menu.

Since school hadn't gotten out yet, it was quieter than usual, so the line moved pretty quickly and soon Noah was up ordering what he wanted; plain ice cream with a large variety of things in it, and Rachel went with one of their pre-made ideas.

Paying for their ice creams, the two returned to his SUV and went back to her dads' house, wanting to get comfortable. Kicking their shoes off, they sat back on the couch with their feet up to eat their ice cream and talk, "so, I had an idea while we were talking to your mom," Rachel commented.

"Really? About what?" He wondered.

"What would you think about asking Arin to come with us?" She asked curiously.

Pausing his spoon halfway to his mouth, he stared at her, "you mean this weekend, right?"

"Yeah, I do. She's my maid of honor and I'd love to have her along; I think it'd be fun. I'm sure she's never been out of Ohio before and she won't miss school. I don't have a second bed in my other bedroom, but she could sleep on my couch. I know she's under eighteen, but you are her older brother, so as long as your mom has given you permission to take her out of the state, I can't see there being a problem," she told him, "I almost asked at lunch when I thought of it, but I wanted to ask you first, so if you're alright with it, I was thinking of bringing it up tonight at dinner."

Listening to what she said and contemplating her idea, Noah weighed their options, "yeah, she is your maid of honor, so this should be something she's involved in, especially since you'll be talking to Kurt about your dress," he took a deep breath, "_if_ mom is alright with it and she can manage her homework, then I'd be alright with her joining us," he smiled.

"Really? Great!" Rachel grinned, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"Yeah, just ask your dads first. Make sure they're cool, since they're gonna help with the flights and all," he added.

"I will," she nodded, shifting a little to press a kiss to his lips, "I love you."

"Love you, too, babe," he smiled, licking his lips and getting a faint taste of blueberries from them and he knew he hadn't gotten them in his ice cream, "what kind did you get?"

She looked at her half eaten cup of ice cream, "it was called 'Berry Berry Berry Good' (1). It has raspberries, strawberries and blueberries in it. It's very good."

"I think I found a new one to try," he admitted, "or maybe I'm just partial to the name," he winked, slipping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him.

Rachel blushed, settling against his chest, and then held the cup up to him, "I don't mind sharing."

He smirked, but took her cup and handed her his, "neither do I."

...

Neither finishing off their ice cream right away, they put it in the freezer before it melted any more and started on dinner. As promised, when David and Alan arrived home, Rachel asked them about Arin joining them on their trip and the two men agreed it was a great idea, saying as long as Deborah was alright with it, they'd be okay with Arin going along.

When Arin and Deborah arrived, a little after five-thirty, Rachel kept from asking them right away, waiting until they were all seated around the dinning room table for dinner.

"Hey, Arin. Do you have any plans this weekend?" Rachel asked curiously.

"No, why? You need help with something?" Arin wondered.

"Well, yes. Kind of," Rachel glanced at Noah, "Noah and I decided that the entire bridal party and our parents are going to be wearing red Converse at the wedding and I have a friend who works at the Converse store in New York, so he and I are going to take a trip to New York on Saturday; we'll be back Sunday," Rachel started.

"Okay, that's cool. I've never heard of that, but I do like those shoes," she admitted with a smile, "so where do I come in?"

"How would you like to come to New York with us?" Rachel asked her with a smile, "this came up after we talked to your mom today and we've already talked to my dads, so if you're mom is alright with it and you're able to deal with your homework, we'd like you to come along. I also have a job for you, too."

Arin's mouth fell open in shock, "you... you want me to go with you? To New York? The Big Apple? Of course I want to go!" She turned to Deborah, "can I? Please?" She begged.

"Wow, um, I don't know," she thought for a moment, "it is a big trip; you've hardly been away from home, except to visit family," she reminded her, "and for some sleepovers with friends," Deborah blushed, for the first time really facing her daughter growing up. "Are you sure you're ready to go?"

"I am," Arin nodded, "I'll be with Noah and Rachel; family," she told her, "and Noah's not going to let anything happen to us. Please, mom," Arin asked hopeful.

Taking a deep breath, Deborah gathered her thoughts and nodded, "I... If Noah and Rachel are alright with you joining them, I... I suppose it would be alright, _if_ you're caught up on your homework and don't have any big tests coming up soon that you need to study for," she gave in, knowing she would be safe with Noah.

"Awesome!" Arin grinned brightly and leaned over to hug her, "thank you!"

"You're welcome," Deborah smiled, "just promise me you'll listen to Noah and Rachel and not go wandering off on your own," she said, then turned to her son, "and don't let her out of her sight."

"Nothing will happen to her," Noah promised.

"Then we'll make all the arrangements after dinner," David said, "I hope you guys can get everything done in just the short time you'll be there," he commented.

"Me too," Rachel agreed, "like I told Noah. We'll have to make sure we manage our time, but I'm sure we'll be successful."

"What exactly are we doing?" Arin wondered.

Rachel went on to explain her plans to Arin and then remembered something, "Arin, I've got a job for you."

"You do? What is it?"

"Since we're not going to be able to afford to buy tons of shoes, we're only buying them for the bridal party and our parents. Anyone else that wants them, we will get them, but they're going to need to pay us either before we go or when we get back. Everyone, I think, who would want them will be here tomorrow night, aside from Artie, Kurt and my friends from New York, who we'll see there, so if you could just keep track of who has paid and what their shoe size is, I can deal with the rest. I'll even give you a list of names, so you don't have to come up with one," Rachel explained.

"Okay, I can do that," she nodded.

"Thanks," Rachel smiled, "I know it's gonna be a quick trip, but I'll make sure you guys enjoy yourselves," she added.

...

Excited for the trip, the rest of dinner was talking about arrangements and plans and when they had finished up, they all found themselves moving into the den, where Alan and David had their computers. Alan pulled up the travel website they used the most and started looking for flights to and from New York.

Since it was so close to their trip, there were only three non-stop flights to choose from and in looking at the times, they only had one option; to take one that left Columbus' airport at ten-thirty Saturday morning.

Thankfully the flight would only be two hours, and there were two options for return trips what were also the same length. Knowing they'd need some time Sunday afternoon to finish up everything they wanted to do, they picked a flight leaving NYC at six-pm at night, giving them the most time there and also getting them back to Ohio and a decent time, so Noah and Arin had a chance to get sleep before they had to be up early on Monday.

David and Alan paid for the flight, so they didn't have to deal with who would pay how much; they could deal with it later. Once the flights had been purchased, Arin asked about what she'd need to bring and for a short time Rachel talked to her about that, assuring her she didn't need to bring a lot since they wouldn't be gone too long. Rachel also mentioned to save from Deborah having to get up early and bring her over to Rachel's or for them to pick her up, Arin could also stay the night on Friday, so she was planning to do that.

Now needing to pack and finish homework, Arin and Deborah left around eight and headed home. "I should probably go get some stuff from my place. I haven't been there for a while," Noah admitted, once his mom and sister had left.

"Oh, do you want to go now or wait until tomorrow? I told everyone it was a pot-luck party and would need to plan for like fifteen or so people, since we're having a few more people over than what you guys usually had," she explained.

Noah raised a curious eyebrow at her, "what does that have to do with getting stuff from my place?"

She giggled, "sorry. I was going to add that we could go tomorrow before or after meeting with Rabbi Goodman, as long as we stop for groceries for the party," she admitted.

"Alright," Noah smirked, "that's cool. It makes more sense. I can gather up some of my clothes and stuff to rotate. Also need to get a bag to take on our trip."

"Okay, then let's get ready for bed and I can make that list up for Arin before we get to sleep," she admitted.

"I'll follow you," Noah nodded.

...

Saying 'goodnight' to her dads, Noah and Rachel headed up to her room. Before changing, Rachel took a seat at her desk and began writing out the list of names for Arin, marking down those in the bridal party, so she wouldn't get confused. Setting it aside and standing up, she found Noah kicked back on her bed in sweats and a t-shirt, "sorry, Noah. I guess I kind of spaced out and ignored you. I'm normally not as out of it."

"It's alright, babe," he said, motioning to the bed as a sign to join him, "you've got a lot of things on your mind. I don't blame you, though I am beginning to miss my XBox."

Sliding onto the bed next to him, she snuggled up against his chest, "I'm sure dad and daddy would be alright if you brought it over, if you wanted to. I know you have been spending your time here and not at your place. I'm sorry about this. Maybe we should be splitting our time between here and your place."

"I don't mind being here. Actually your dads have already said that I could bring it over if I wanted, but I just haven't been back there since we talked about it, so I'll make sure to bring it when we go over this time," he thought for a moment, "though my landlord is probably thinking I moved out or something," he smirked, "I should probably talk to him."

"It wouldn't hurt. I let my landlord know I was going to be gone for over a month and already paid my rent, so I didn't miss a month, you know?" She commented.

"Yeah, I'll talk to him tomorrow," he nodded, content to just lay there, but also was craving the rest of his ice cream, "you wanna go get the rest of our ice cream?" He wondered with a grin.

"Oh, I forgot about that! Sure!" She smiled, getting up and holding out her hand for him, "that was really good. We'll have to go back sometime."

"I'm sure that could be arranged," he agreed, taking her hand and pulling her to him before they left the room, "I know you're not usually focused on something as big as planning our wedding, but just do me a favor?"

Rachel rested a hand on his chest and smiled, "what's that?"

"Have fun. Relax and know that everything will work out. Every detail doesn't have to be planned today," he told her softly.

Letting his words sink in, she took a deep breath and nodded, "you're right and I promise I will do my best to have fun and relax. I know I need to and several times I've thought back to the night we went ice skating just for the fun of it. That was very memorable to me," she admitted, "I want more of that."

"That was a great night," he agreed, kissing her lips, "and I promise we will have many more times like that."

Standing on her tip toes, Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him lovingly, "sounds like a wonderful plan to me."

...

(1) 'Berry Berry Berry Good' is the name of one of Cold Stone's real 'Signature Creations'. ( coldstonecreamery . com / icecream / signature_creations . html )

...

A/N7: Hope you guys enjoyed! I'm really excited for what is to come in this fic and I hope you guys continue the journey with me. Let me know what you think!

A/N8: For those of you who read the recent updates to 'Out of the Blue' and 'Starlight', and if you haven't, then I was hinting at writing and posting Lark fics (meaning real person fiction (RPF) with Lea Michele and Mark Salling). Since my last updates, I finally posted my first fic. It's called **'Breaking The Rules'** (link here - ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com / 54783 . html )). I've decided it will be the beginning of a whole universe of fics for them going AU during Glee's '3x11-Michael' episode. Because RPF goes against FF's rules, it's only being posted on my LJ. I've mentioned it on my Tumblr account (EJ8302) and I've also updated my FF profile with the link and will continue doing that with all my other Lark fics. You're welcome to comment without having an LJ account on the fic there, or you can message me on Tumblr or FF. If you don't have either or want me to update you when I post them, send me a PM and we can discuss how I can let you know when I update them. (PS - I'm about 2/3 of the way done with the next Lark update, which should be ready soon!)

A/N9: I've become disgusted with Glee. I haven't watched an entire episode since season 3's Christmas episode and I don't think that will change. I haven't liked season 3 at all and I don't see the show getting any better in the future. They've ruined the characters I love. I am and always will be a Puckleberry shipper and now all I do is watch the show for Mark Salling, Lea Michele and Puckleberry or Lark moments. I will NOT stop writing Puckleberry (or Lark!), no matter what they do with the characters on the show, so don't worry that I'm going to stop writing - I won't! I love the characters too much to stop writing them, I promise! I also have tons of ideas that I won't give up on! ... Glee has cast Rachel's dads and they will first be shown in this week's episode, '3x13 - Heart'. Rachel's dads names will always be David and Alan Berry to me; David being the Jewish, light skinned dad and when I see David in my mind, I've always pictured Jeff Goldbum, so I was shocked to see he'd been cast as one of Rachel's dads. I think they have named his character Hiram, but to me he will always be David, which actually is the name of the character he played in Independence Day back in the 1990s. Just wanted to let you know that my stories will always have David and Alan as Rachel's dads, because the two men have grown on me so much that I won't change them to follow the show. I also thought I'd mention this, so you guys could share my mental image of David, if you didn't have one yet.

**Converse note: **When my best friend's little sister got married a few years ago, she, her now husband and their entire bridal party, wore Converse shoes with various colored laces. Her favorite color is orange, so she wore orange with navy blue laces. Her now husband wore navy blue with orange laces and and the rest of the bridal party wore brown Converse with various colored laces. I thought it was the best idea ever and knew I wanted to use it in this fic! So, thanks to her for the idea!

...


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Broken Road, Part 15/?

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

...

**Reminder:** The rating of this story as a whole is 'T/PG-13'. Only chapters 10-12 are considered a rating of 'M/R' due to content.

...

Sticking to their morning plans, Noah and Rachel woke up early and after her dads left for work, they gathered up some of Noah's dirty clothes and work things and headed over to his apartment.

Now that they weren't surprised to see his mom and sister there, Rachel got a chance to see more of his place. It wasn't the first time she'd been in there; she'd been there many times before they lost contact. He moved into the place the summer after they graduated from high school, but it was back when he didn't have a lot of money to decorate or have a ton of furniture. Since then, he'd gotten a better paying job and more time to fill his space with basic furniture and put up posters that screamed single young man. The posters were mostly of sports teams or athletes he liked, some were cheerleaders, while others were for cars, games or movies he liked, too. On the large entertainment center where his flat screen TV was, he had some photos in frames, and they were also hanging on the walls.

Looking at the photos in the living room, Rachel could see they were mostly friends and family, but she landed on one that was of ten people, including Noah, Matt and their boss she'd met. They were all dressed in their SWAT uniforms and she realized it was their team photo taken over the summer. On closer inspection, she was surprised to see a woman on the team and wanted to ask him about it later.

Continuing to look, Rachel made her way down the hallway where more pictures were hanging and recognized his mom, sister, their friends from Glee and more teammates from his photo in the living room. When her eyes landed on a photo of a bunch of their friends dressed up, she smiled when she realized it was at Mercedes and Matt's wedding.

As her trek brought her to his room, where he'd gone to start going through things, she stepped inside and found more of the same types of photos hanging around, except these photos were older; from high school. She saw a photo of the Glee Club, dressed in their costumes from the first Sectionals they'd won, and a few more similar photos that had been taken of everyone at other competitions over the two years they had been together as a club. Also mixed into those were ones of Noah with his friends from school, football or basketball. Reaching a section that was above his dresser, she gasped.

"Didn't think I'd have pictures of us up, huh?" He asked curiously, as he sorted things out at his bed.

She didn't respond right away, wanting to look closer and found several pictures of just her and him, taken at various times in their last two years of high school. Mixed in were also some pictures from the first few years after graduation, before they'd lost touch, "well, yes, part of me didn't think you would have any up, since we haven't talked in a few years, but I'm glad I was wrong," she smiled, reaching out and running her hand along the frame, holding a photo of both of them dressed in their red graduation gowns, just after the ceremony, "we also only dated briefly."

"Yeah, but we were friends. You were honestly the first girl I was friends with that meant something to me. I mean, yeah, I knew Quinn, but I definitely wouldn't call her friends and it hasn't been until the last few years that I've really gotten to know Tina and Mercedes," Noah explained, walking over to her and slipping his arms around her waist from behind.

Rachel leaned back against him and smiled, "that means a lot, Noah. I think you were my first real guy friend, too."

"Good to know," he pressed a kiss to her cheek and then guided them back towards his bed, piled with things he'd gathered up.

Rachel knew he wanted to get back to what he'd been doing, so she took a seat on his bed, "do you need any help?"

"Nah. I'm just rotating shirts and stuff. I'll figure out what I need to take when we get back to your place. I mean, like you told my sister last night, we don't need a lot, so we probably won't have to check luggage at all."

"Very true. You just need something to change into on Sunday," she said, setting her hands behind her and leaning back a little, "you have a great place, Noah. I remember when you first moved in and didn't have a lot of stuff. That changed after we lost touch. I didn't get a chance to look around last time I was here; since your mom and sister surprised us."

"Yeah I remember. I'm glad you like it," he paused and sat down next to her, "I know we keep saying we'll deal with the living arrangements later, but have you thought any on what we're going to do?" He asked softly.

Rachel was silent for a long moment, seeing the concern on his face and realized he was worried about what their future held. Taking his hand she squeezed it and slid closer to him, "I have, a little. Have you?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I don't know if I'll be able to leave Lima. It's home. I know when I was younger I couldn't wait to get out of here, but now with the team... I love my job and I don't want to give it up... Especially because Matt's my partner... He joined because of me," he explained, "I know this may be hard to hear, but I wanted you to know. I don't know if leaving is an option for me."

"Then, it's a good thing I am thinking about coming home," she smiled, squeezing his hand.

"What?" He gasped in shock, "since when?"

"Well, remember the day I went to see Arin and the Glee Club? Before Thanksgiving?" She asked.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"That morning, after you went to work, dad and daddy brought up the question of what we'd do about our living arrangements if we dated, because we weren't at the time. Since coming home I've done some thinking about it. I totally understand your reasons for wanting to stay and you're right; you've got a really good job here and I would definitely not ask you to give up what you love to follow me," she held up her other hand to stop him from replying, because she knew what he'd say, "I know you won't ask me to do the same thing, but I wouldn't mind coming home. Another part of the reason I want to go to New York now, is to see how I feel about returning; see if it feels the same now, as it did before. Part of me doesn't want to go back at all. Part of me does, so that tells me that my heart isn't there anymore. It's here with you, dad, daddy and our friends and family," she explained, "that afternoon, I mentioned to Mr. Schuester and Arin, that my degree allows me to teach choir in New York, so all I'd need to do is have my degree checked out to see what I qualify to teach here in Ohio and take a test and I could come back and teach choir, coach Glee, that kind of stuff. I know nothing is set in stone, but I figure after we get married officially, I'll look into what I need to do to became licensed to teach in Ohio."

Noah's mouth fell open in shock and then he smiled, "you'd do that? You'd come home?"

"I would," she nodded, "right now, I want to be with you and go wherever that takes us," she smiled at him, "and if that means coming home to Lima to be with you, I will do that once I finish the show."

"Wow, babe, that's," Noah paused, "that's awesome, I mean... Right?" He asked unsure.

"It is awesome," she agreed, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him in for a kiss, "most of my dreams came true already. Now you're my new dream, Noah," she whispered against his lips.

Noah wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, guiding them back, so they were laying on their sides, "you're my new dream, too," he smiled, kissing her once more.

Rachel melted against him and continued the kiss, but a nervous thought popped into her mind and though she tried to push it aside, she couldn't shake something she wanted to know, "Noah," she bit her lip, "I..."

"What? What is it?" Noah asked, concerned at her quick shift.

Glancing up towards his pillows, she took a deep breath, "I... I have something to ask, but I'm afraid you'll get mad at me."

"You can ask me anything, babe. I won't get mad at you," he assured her, reaching up to brush away some loose strands of hair from her face, "what's wrong?"

Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she looked at him, "I wanna be here, but you... you wanted to get a test done and..." She paused, blushing, "how many girls have you had over and in your bed?" She asked softly.

"One," he replied, "unless you want me to count my mom, my sister, Carole, Quinn, Mercedes, Tina and Emma, who have all visited my place, then eight," he paused, seeing nerves in her eyes, "babe, that one girl is you. I've never brought girls over, unless I know them. I'm a cop and I don't want a bunch of one-night stands knowing where I live. I have weapons in this place, and before I became a cop, I never brought girls here. My place has always been somewhere I can get away from all that," he said honestly, "I swear, I've never shared this bed with anyone," he promised.

Rachel sighed in relief, her blush growing, "I believe you," she took a deep breath, "I just had a thought that you wanted to get a test done to see if you had anything and I don't know exactly all the medical details on how things are passed, so I wanted to know, but I also wanted to trust you."

Noah pressed a kiss to her lips and let his hand run through her hair gently, "I get it and you have every right to know the truth, which is what I told you. I've never brought girls over before, so my apartment and bed are safe from anything," he assured her, then smirked, "well, I haven't washed my sheets in a while, so they might smell like dirty socks."

Rachel giggled lightly, "well, there are ways to change that."

"Yeah, I know. I'll deal with it later. It's not like I'm sleeping in it for a while," he winked, "you do still wanna stick with not sleeping here until we get married, right?" He wondered.

"I think it'd be more special if we waited to stay here until our first night as husband and wife," she admitted, "I know that week after we get married may be a little hectic, but we'll have this place to be alone."

"Sounds great to me. I want our first night together to be as special as possible," he smiled.

"It will be, Noah, I have no doubt in that," she shifted closer to him, her eyes drifting closed, but before she could get too comfortable, she gasped and sat up quickly, looking around for the clock, "Noah you have to finish. We're meeting Rabbi Goodman in an hour!"

"Oh yeah," he smirked and sat up, kissing her again, "relax, we've got time. I'm almost done."

"I just don't want to be late," she told him, "it would be very rude."

"I know and we won't be. It only takes like fifteen minutes to get to temple from here. We'll be okay," he replied, standing up. Pressing another kiss to her lips, he stepped away and returned to his duffel bags, "just sit there and look hot."

Rachel blushed at his words, but nodded, "alright. I can do that."

...

Knowing Rachel wouldn't let him slack off, Noah finished up packing and made sure he had a clean uniform for Monday, along with all his other gear. With bags in hand, he and Rachel left his place and went to drop them off at his car, and then the two went to check his mail and talk to his landlord. He wanted to let him know he was still around, but spending some time at her place and also introduced him to Rachel, in case she stopped over one day without him; at least that way there wasn't a question who she was. Noah's landlord appreciated the update and was glad to meet Rachel and congratulated them on their upcoming marriage.

With time running out, Noah and Rachel left his apartment complex and headed to the Temple in town, arriving just before eleven and went inside, finding Rabbi Goodman in the main area of building.

Greeting familiar faces with handshakes, the rabbi led them into a quieter area so they could talk privately and he congratulated them on their engagement. The man had been at the temple for over thirty years, so he was around before Noah was born and was happy to see him grown up and now taking another big step in life. He also knew the Berrys, but didn't know as much about them, because they'd only been around since Rachel started ninth grade and they didn't attend services often.

Rabbi Goodman admitted he was surprised that they were getting married so soon after getting together and engaged, but once he learned the whole story, he understood why and agreed to marry them; he hadn't planned to turn them down, but wanted to talk to them first before he made a decision.

Once Rachel and Noah learned he was willing to marry them, they talked about how simple they were planning to make their ceremony, but still honor some of the Jewish traditions, including the wedding canopy, the Ketuba, the marriage contract, and breaking of the glass. The rabbi agreed to what they wanted and was making some notes of his own in a planner for their ceremony and told them it wouldn't hurt to get their license from the courthouse soon, so they weren't waiting until the last minute. Rachel and Noah agreed that was a good idea and decided to do that sometime the following week.

The conversation with the rabbi lasted a little over an hour and soon they were shaking hands, thanking the man and agreeing to meet in a few weeks to update him on the planning progress and give him an idea of timing for the ceremony.

When the couple left, Rachel and Noah decided to head out for lunch, since it was that time and it'd give them a chance to soak in what they'd talked about with Rabbi Goodman. Sitting across from each other at Breadsticks so they could talk, Rachel admitted she was excited and happy that the rabbi would be marrying them and they could check another thing off their list.

After lunch, the two went shopping to pick up the items Rachel wanted to get for the party that night and finally, a little after two, they were back at the house. Her dads were still at work and though Rachel wanted to get started on preparations, Noah talked her into kicking back on the couch for a while to relax.

"You just want me to yourself, because you know we'll have a bunch of people over tonight," she smirked, then gasp, "I need to fix up the guest rooms!" She shifted to get up, but her fiancé held her in place, "Noah" she pouted.

"Relaxing means not doing work. The guest rooms will hold for a little while longer. Besides, what do you have to do? Change the sheets? I can do that while you deal with the food and that stuff," he suggested.

"Really? That is all I need to do. You wouldn't mind doing that?" She asked surprised.

"Nah, of course I wouldn't mind," he assured her, kissing her forehead and guiding her to lay back down on the couch, "now just relax. We're a few steps closer to getting married and I think after the things we did today, we earned a few minutes to chill on the couch."

Rachel blushed, "well, I suppose you are right," she agreed, smiling lightly and settled in for a moment.

...

Noah and Rachel's moment lasted fifteen minutes. It was a lot longer than Noah had expected her to last, but less than he was hoping for. He'd take what he'd get, because he knew things needed to get done and her brain wouldn't turn off even if her body tried to. While she moved into the kitchen to get started on cooking and the other things she wanted to do, Noah headed upstairs with his bags and dropped them off in her room, before moving into one of the guest rooms to do what he said he would, so Rachel didn't have to.

Rachel still wasn't used to having someone else pitch in to help with hosting a party; she'd had parties with her roommates before, but usually by the day of, they'd either not be around or not know what to do, so they'd just spend time mingling with their guests and Rachel was usually left with the hosting duties of keeping the place clean, pointing out where things went or keeping track of everything. She definitely liked being home and having her dads, Noah, Deborah and Arin to help out.

It didn't take long for Noah to change the sheets on the beds; each room had sheets in the closet, so he didn't have to worry about getting them mixed up and once he finished, he made his way downstairs to find Rachel just putting a tray of something in the oven. "Bedrooms are done," he said, moving behind her and slipping his arms around her waist.

"Great! Did you shake out the comforters?" She asked, moving over to the counter to continue mixing a few chip dips she was making.

Noah smirked, "yes, I shook each comforter, and changed the sheets, though I don't think they needed to be changed, because I don't think anyone has slept in the beds since they were washed last," he replied, moving to stand behind her.

"Probably not, but I imagine they've been there a while, so it's better to put fresh ones on," she said, "and while I'm doing this, you could go pack. I don't need to, since I still have clothes in New York. I just have to gather up a few things to take in my carry-on."

"I could do that, or I could help you down here. Then when we're both done, we could go upstairs," he paused and stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind again and kissed her cheek, "I could pack, you can sort out the notes you want to discuss with everyone and by then, your dads should be home and mom and Arin should be over soon, too," he murmured in her ear.

Even though she was focused on what she was doing, she couldn't help leaning back against his strong chest and resting her hands on his, "you always have such amazing ideas, Noah."

"It's alright. Sometimes you're just too close to the project to think about other things. No worries," he explained, "so, what can I help with?"

...

Rachel and Noah spent the next little while mixing things up, baking some finger foods in the oven and gathering bowls to put chips and crackers in. Once they were done, like Noah suggested, they went up to her room and while she sorted out some notes, he filled a smaller duffel bag with a change of clothes for the next day and a few other things, knowing he wouldn't need too much.

A little after three she'd gotten a message from her cousin that she was on her way up from Columbus and just after four-thirty, Alan got home. David got home a little after five and Deborah and Arin were over just after them. Rachel showed Arin to one of the guest rooms to drop her bag off and then Rachel gave her the list she'd made for her to keep track of the shoes and then they met downstairs and got things set up for the arrival of their friends.

Just after five-thirty, the doorbell rang and Noah went to get it, because he was the closest and when he opened the door, he had to do a double take, because the girl on the other side looked a lot like Rachel. "Whoa, hi!" He shook from his daze, "you must be Anna."

"I am," Anna nodded, "and you must be Noah," she smiled, stepping into the house with a bag over her shoulder.

"You're right. When Rachel said you guys looked alike, I didn't realize how much," he commented, closing the door.

Anna smiled, "yeah, it's one of the reasons why we're pretty sure David is Rachel's biological father," she admitted.

Now that she had stepped inside, she was near Noah and he could tell she was the same height as Rachel and had the same hair color and style. With similar facial features the only difference between them he really saw was that Anna wore a pair of black rimmed glasses. "I definitely agree, now that I see you," he nodded.

"You're here!" Rachel skipped over and hugged her, "I'm so glad you made it!"

Returning her hug, Anna smiled, "I wouldn't miss this for the world!"

"Thanks! So, Noah's sister is staying here tonight also, so she's using the room across from mine. You can take the one next to mine," she explained. "You wanna drop your bags off and then meet us down here? We've got a lot to talk about."

"Sounds good," Anna nodded, patting her bag, "I'll be right back."

...

Anna went upstairs long enough to drop her bag off in the guest room Rachel was talking about and then returned downstairs to greet her uncles and meet Arin and Deborah. The two Puckermans had a similar reaction to Anna and Rachel looking a lot a like. Rachel and Anna were used to being compared and told the story about being asked once if they were twins.

Since everyone would be there around six, they made sure things were ready and just before six the doorbell rang. Rachel got up and went to answer it, finding Finn, Quinn and an older woman she vaguely recognized, all three of them holding large boxes that looked like they were from a bakery, "hey. What's up?"

"Hey, Rachel. This is my mom Carole. Mom, this is Rachel," Finn said.

"Oh, hi! I thought I recognized you," Rachel smiled, "what is all this?"

"We have met briefly before," Carole smiled, "nice to see you again. Deborah asked me to join you all with cake samples. She thought you could kill two birds with one stone."

"That's a great idea!" Rachel smiled, reaching out to take a few of the boxes, "oh wow, you brought a lot. This is going to be fun."

"Did I hear cake samples?" Noah wondered, joining them at the door and taking some of the boxes before everyone came inside and moved into the kitchen to find a place to set them.

"I hope it's alright that I invited Carole over. I just thought it'd save you guys some time," Deborah commented.

"Oh that's quite alright. Carole's welcome anytime," Rachel replied with a smile, "and as I said when they first got here, it's a great idea."

"And we get cake out of it, too," Arin added with a grin.

Carole laughed lightly, "thanks for the welcome. I brought over a large variety of cake that we do. Each of them have the frosting we usually use with them, but we can switch those around," she explained.

"Okay, sounds great!" Rachel nodded.

...

They'd also brought over a dish, so once that was put with the other food and the cake boxes were settled in the kitchen, Rachel and Noah introduced everyone who hadn't met and the new arrivals took their jackets off, before everyone moved into the living room to sit down. Once they were seated, someone knocked on the door and Rachel got up to answer it, finding Tina and Mike on the other side of the door with dishes in their hand. Welcoming them, she helped them taking everything to the food table and got their jackets off and as they joined the large group, Matt, Mercedes and Dave arrived. Emma and Will were the last to get there and Rachel made sure she introduced her cousin to everyone and they all had a similar reaction; surprise and thinking they were twins.

Piling plates with food, everyone retook their seats around the living room and started eating. Even though it was a way for everyone to hang out, they also had another reason to be there, so while they ate, Rachel told them what they'd already planned or got started on and mentioned the cake for later on.

The shoes idea came up and everyone thought it was neat and original. Understanding they couldn't get shoes for everyone, the friends who also wanted to wear them were willing to pay for their shoes. Rachel hadn't mentioned them going to New York the next day, but it came up when she explained they were going to try to get the shoes that weekend, with the help of her friend who manages the store in New York. Everyone gave Arin their shoe size, who wanted them and some of them gave them a check or cash if they had it on them and some said they'd give it to them when they got back.

In talking about the trip, Anna offered to take them to the airport and Rachel appreciated the offer, and admitted it had been a thought, but they explained what they were going to do and Anna understood.

Rachel explained what else they'd be doing on the trip and she admitted she wanted to surprise Kurt, so no one called him, but they did call Artie about the shoes and he liked the idea, so Arin put his name down and her list was complete, aside from the people who lived in New York.

With that all settled, Noah suggested they get into the cake and soon Carole and Deborah were cutting up different flavored cakes and passing them around, making sure Rachel and Noah each got a chance to taste them.

With so many cakes, Rachel had to write down all the ones they tried and no one hated any of them; everyone there loved cake. Knowing they couldn't have all the cakes for their wedding, Rachel and Noah started out by crossing off the ones they thought were just 'okay', leaving the ones they really liked. There were several still on the list, but they shared four in common, so they decided they'd go with those, since their cake would be tiered, giving them room to have more than one flavor.

Carole wrote down their choices to save for later, when they could talk about design and everything else, but now they'd gotten a big step closer to having the cake picked out.

...

When the cake decision had been made, Quinn asked if there was anything else Rachel needed help with and she admitted she needed help with flowers, music and the catering menu. Tina offered to help with the flowers, because she'd been planning for hers and knew who to talk to about them and also had an idea of what they'd need. Rachel happily thanked her and noted to call Tina later in the week to get together to talk about them.

Since Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes had similar tastes in some music, Mercedes said she'd help get music put together and would get Kurt, Matt and Finn to help, to make sure they got a mix of music that Rachel and Noah liked. Noah thanked her for having that idea, glad he wouldn't have to listen to show tunes all day. Noah's comment made the room laugh and Rachel even agreed, admitting she wanted the music to be a mix of theirs, so he was glad she wasn't mad at his comment.

Quinn, Deborah and Carole offered to help with the catering. Deborah knew a little bit about it already, since Rachel had talked about it, and then Rachel explained to Carole and Quinn the same thing, about wanting simple snacks, no alcohol and using sparkling apple cider in place of champagne. At first everyone was shocked about not having alcohol, but once Noah and Rachel explained that it came part from Figgins request, from the two of them not drinking much and from the time of day they were having it, their friends understood and promised to respect their choices.

"I suppose now all we have to take care of what the bridal party is going to wear. We've got the shoes idea down and Kurt is making my dress, so we're going to stop by his place and let him get the rest of my measurements. Now we just need suits for the guys and dresses for girls," Rachel commented.

"We can deal with that," David said, "since dad and I need to get suits, we can do that all at once. Just tell us what you're thinking."

"Great idea, daddy," Rachel smiled, "since we're going with red shoes, I think black suits, white shirts and red ties to match the shoes," she added, looking at her fiancé, "what do you think?"

"That sounds good. I'm open for almost anything," Noah replied with a shrug, "we can deal with all that once we get back, too."

"I know, but we still should be thinking about it," she commented, "and I should start looking for dresses. I guess we could check out stores here in town this coming week and if we don't have any luck, head to Columbus next weekend."

"There really isn't anything here," Mercedes admitted, "I had to get bridesmaids gowns from Columbus and I think that's where Tina is going, too."

Tina nodded, "yeah. There isn't much to choose from here. Columbus is your best choice."

"Okay, that saves a step. Then I guess we're going down there next weekend," Rachel commented.

"I'll look up the addresses to some of the shops. I know my way around town pretty well, so you could meet me at my place and we could go," Anna suggested.

"That's a great idea," Rachel grinned, "we'll have to figure out what day works better; we'll do that this week," she added.

Anna nodded, "okay. Just call or text me."

...

Dave, Will and Emma, since they worked at McKinley, offered to help out with dealing with preparations at McKinley, the set-up and organization, since between the three of them, they had access to every place in the school, so they wouldn't have to deal with locked doors.

Happy for that help, Rachel felt really excited that everything seemed to be falling into place; some things were decided on and others had a good start and she knew in the next few weeks more things would come together and soon they'd be getting married.

Even though it was only nine, Rachel, Arin and Noah had an early morning ahead of them, because they needed to be at the airport around eight-thirty in the morning, and with a two hour drive, they'd have to get up early to leave the Berry's by six-thirty.

Everyone pitched into help clean up so Rachel's dads were not left with a big mess the next day and Carole split up the cakes so others could take some home, so they didn't have to leave it all at the Berry's. It didn't take too long before their friends were saying 'goodnight' and heading home until the last person to leave was Deborah.

"You've got your ID, right?" Deborah asked Arin.

"Yes, I do," Arin nodded.

"And you did all your homework, right?"

"Yes, mom, I did all my homework before we came over tonight," Arin assured her.

Deborah wrapped her arms around Arin, "you listen to Noah and Rachel and don't go wandering off alone, okay?"

"I promise," Arin nodded, hugging Deborah, "we'll be fine."

"That's what I'm hoping, but I still worry," she said honestly, moving to Noah, hugging him, "you guys call us when you get there and keep an eye on your sister," she warned him.

"I won't let anything happen to Arin or Rachel, I promise, mom, don't worry," he assured her, pressing a kiss to her forehead as they hugged.

Deborah took a deep breath, "I'm trying not to," she replied, hugging Rachel, "but it's hard."

"We'll be home Sunday night and talk on the phone a few times this weekend, so just relax," Noah told her.

"I'll call when we get to the airport, too, because I'm sure you'll be up by then," Arin added.

"I'm sure I'll be up at my usual time, so you can call when you leave here, too," Deborah replied.

Noah slipped his arm around her shoulders and guided her closer to the door, "it's alright, mom. We'll call sometime tomorrow morning on our way to the airport, so just go home, relax and get some sleep."

"Okay, you're right. I love you guys, see you soon and have a safe trip," she replied, putting her jacket on.

Arin gave her another hug, "love you, too, mom."

Deborah smiled and then nodded at everyone before reluctantly heading outside and going to her car.

Noah and Arin watched her leave and when she wasn't in view anymore, they came back in and joined Anna, David, Rachel and Alan in the kitchen. "Bedtime?" Noah asked Rachel, unsure if she wanted to stay up later to spend time with her cousin.

"Yeah, I think we should. Anna and I were just discussing that. We'd like to hang out more, but since we've gotta get up early, we can catch up later," Rachel explained.

"Alright, it's up to you," Noah shrugged.

...

Saying 'goodnight', the six all headed up to their various rooms and agreed to get up sometime around four, hoping that would be enough time to get ready to go.

When Noah and Rachel walked into her room and Noah closed the door behind him, Rachel turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist, "I had fun tonight," she admitted, kissing his lips gently.

"Me too," he agreed, "it's great to get together with everyone. The cake was definitely a change, though," he added, grinning as he slipped his arms around her, "though I'm not complaining."

"Neither am I. Your mom had a great idea to invite Carole over so she could bring them. Definitely one less detail we have to take care of," she agreed, guiding him towards the bed.

"Do you have everything ready you're going to take?" Noah asked, realizing she hadn't done any packing.

Rachel motioned to the bag on her desk, "I'm just taking my purse. I can put our notebook in it and I'll have my phone. That should be all I need, since I'll have other clothes to come back in at home. I figure if I do have other things I want to bring back, we can ship them; it'd be the easiest. I've done that before."

"Oh yeah, I guess it would be easier. The UPS store here in town is open on Sunday, so yeah, that's a good idea," Noah agreed, pressing a kiss to her lips. "Did you get Kurt's address tonight?"

"Yes," Rachel nodded, "Mercedes and Carole knew it off the top of their heads."

"Cool. Do you think that will be our first stop when we get there, after we drop our things off at your place?"

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I don't know his plans, but I thought once we got to my place, I could call and talk to him for a little bit and then when we're done talking, head over to his place and surprise him. After he gets the measurements and we talk a little, we can see if he wants to go with us to the store and I'll have Brooke call Ian, Tammy and Courtney to have them come down to meet us. After that, we should be able to go to dinner or something. I thought if we can get everything taken care of on Saturday, Sunday we can spend doing a few sightseeing things until we have to be at the airport. I mean, it is your first trip to NYC and same with Arin," Rachel explained, taking a seat on the bed.

"That'd be cool, but we still need to make sure we take care of what we're going there for. If we have time to go sightseeing, that'd be great, but if we don't, there's always time after we get married," he replied honestly.

"There is," Rachel agreed, shifting closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck, "I love you, Noah. I can't express how excited I am that we're getting married."

Noah grinned, "it's going to be epic," he assured her, kissing her gently, "I love you, too."

...

This chapter is dedicated, in loving memory, to my dog... It was written during the time when she got sick and we had to make the tough decision to put her to sleep. I love and miss her so much!

...

A/N7: I hope you guys enjoyed! I didn't realize it'd been almost two months since my last update. I'm so sorry about that. I've been sick and I'm finally on antibiotics, so hopefully I'll be feeling better soon.

A/N8: Funny coincidence... This chapter was written in mid-January and it's been discussed that they're wearing Converse for their shoes at the wedding... In mid-February, Mark went to the opening of the Santa Monica Converse store!

A/N9: Thank you, everyone, for sticking with me. It really means a lot! Love you all! I promise that no matter what, I will always continue to write Puckleberry. Even if the show sucks now and I'm disgusted with how it's turned out. Even if Puckleberry will never get another chance, I will continue to write and ship them, so don't worry. I'm not going anywhere!

A/N10: After updating this story last, I posted two Lark (Lea/Mark RPF) fics. They are only posted on my LJ (RPF is against FF's rules) and you're welcome to read/comment without having an LJ account. If you'd like me to message you when I update them again, I can do that, just let me know. The links are below. Both fics are going to be part of a WIP series, AU after 1/1/2012 and the end of 3x11 - Michael.

'Breaking The Rules' ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com / 54783 . html ) - Lea and Mark finally get to spend a New Year's Eve together!

'Something To Talk About' ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com / 55471 . html ) - continued from 'Breaking The Rules' - After the events of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, Mark and Lea definitely have a lot to talk about.

...


	16. Chapter 16

Title: Broken Road, Part 16/?

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

...

**Reminder:** The rating of this story as a whole is 'T/PG-13'. Only chapters 10-12 are considered a rating of 'M/R' due to content.

...

Excitement kept Rachel from sleeping past four-am, so the last hour before the alarm went off, she laid silently next to her sleeping fiancé and let her thoughts take over. She couldn't wait to show Noah and Arin around the city. She knew they'd only be there a short time, but hoped she'd be able to show them a few things she'd come up with, while laying there.

Watching the numbers change on her clock, slowly getting closer to five in the morning, she realized she wouldn't get back to sleep and decided to just get up. Carefully crawling out of bed, she quietly padded into her bathroom to take a shower. She was only in there long enough to wash her hair and body and once she was rinsed, she stepped out and wrapped her hair in a towel, before grabbing a larger one to dry off with. She could hear the alarm going off and then the beeping stopped, so she realized Noah was either up or at least awake enough to hit the snooze button.

She had a feeling he was trying to go back to sleep, so after wrapping her towel around her body, she stepped out of the bathroom and confirmed her suspicion, finding him laid out on his stomach, arm stretched towards the clock, "good morning Noah. You're can't sleep too long," she said softly, taking a seat on the edge of bed next to him.

"I know," he murmured, shifting a little to look at her, "morning. You're up early."

"I've been awake since four," she shrugged, "I couldn't sleep."

"Are you okay?" He asked concerned, sitting to look at her, "did you have a bad dream?"

"Oh, no," she shook her head, "nothing like that. I'm just really excited to take you and Arin to New York. I've spent the last hour or so thinking about all the things we should do if we can," she explained, blushing a little.

Noah reached out and brushed a water droplet from her cheek and smiled, "I'm glad you didn't have a bad dream. As for what we do, I'm open for almost anything. To be honest, I've never really thought about what I'd want to do if I ever went to NYC, so I'll let you and Arin figure it out."

Rachel leaned into his touch and then turned her head a little to press a kiss to his palm, "I'm glad I didn't have a bad dream, too," she admitted, "and you've never thought about visiting New York at all? Really?"

"Really," he nodded, "since we'd lost touch and I was working, I didn't really have a need to go there. Sure, Kurt lives there and we're friends, but not like best friends or anything. I do know of the major places, like the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty and some other popular tourist places like Central Park, but as for anything specific, I'm totally clueless," he replied, slipping his arms around her towel covered body and pressing a kiss to her moist shoulder.

"By the time we get back here, you won't be. I'll show you guys as many sights as we can and I hope we can make it to all three places you mentioned," she admitted.

"Sounds like fun," he smiled, groaning when the alarm began to go off again.

Rachel sighed, not wanting to move from the comfort of his arms, but knew they couldn't say there for long, "Noah, we need to get moving. Why don't you shower while I finish getting ready?"

"Yeah, alright," he nodded, reaching over to turn the alarm off, then returned his arms to where they had been around her, "are you gonna check to see if my sister is up?" He asked softly, "or do you want me to?"

"I'm sure she will be, but I'll check once I get dressed," she smiled at him, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "love you."

"Love you, too, babe," he pulled back a little to look her over, "and definitely lookin' amazing this morning, but you look amazing every day," he added with a grin.

"Thank you," she blushed, glancing down at her body, wrapped in a towel, "it's nice to know you love me without make-up."

"Of course I do. You're just as gorgeous without it, as you are wearing it," he promised, brushing his hand along her cheek before letting it rest on her bare shoulder, "you don't need all that to impress me or make me love you. It's what's on the inside that counts," he assured her, giving her a quick hug.

Rachel smiled happily and as they pulled away, she kissed his cheek, "you make me a very happy woman, Noah," she told him, standing up and taking his hands to tug him up.

Noah slid his feet out from under the blankets and stood up, slipping his arms around her again, "and you make me very happy, too, babe."

...

Reluctantly prying themselves apart, Noah moved into her bathroom to shower and Rachel went to get dressed. Once she had her clothes on, as promised, she went to check on Arin, but found she was already up and about to go shower, so Rachel was happy they were on schedule.

Between showers, getting dressed and making sure things were gathered up, Rachel, Noah and Arin finally dropped their bags by the door and joined Rachel's cousin Anna, David and Alan in the dinning room for breakfast. The three had gotten up to help put together some food, so they didn't have to figure everything out and they talked lightly over their meal since no one was totally awake yet.

After everyone had their fill of breakfast, Rachel and Alan moved into the den to get the paperwork they'd need to pick up their tickets, while the others cleaned up a little and soon the travelers were making one final check through the rooms they'd been staying in to make sure they had everything and started saying 'goodbye' to Rachel's dads and cousin, who was going to leave for Columbus a few hours later, since she didn't have anything going on that day.

Rachel shared hugs with her dads first and then Noah shook their hands, "I'm sure we don't have to tell you, but Noah, take care of yourselves," David commented.

Noah smiled at the two men, then glanced at his fiancée and sister, "I will," he promised, "we'll be fine."

"Yes we will be," Rachel confirmed.

"We're pretty sure you will be, too, but it doesn't hurt to mention it again," Alan replied with a smile.

"I promise I'll take care of us. I'm not gonna let anything happen," Noah assured them, "I may not be officially a cop once I'm out of Lima city limits, but that doesn't stop me from being one," he grinned, "or being an overprotective brother and fiancé."

Arin and Rachel blushed, and all of them laughed lightly at his comment, "I may be excited to be going, but I'm definitely nervous, so I'm not gonna cause problems," Arin promised.

Rachel slid her arms around her to give her a hug, "we'll be fine. Dad and daddy had come help me get settled in my dorm when I first went to school in New York. Once they left, I was nervous, but soon that wore off. Besides, you won't be alone," she told her.

"Very true. I trust you guys," she returned Rachel's hug, "and I may not say this enough, but I really do love that Noah is a cop and I don't mind him being overprotective. I love you, bro," Arin replied as they pulled apart and she glanced at her brother.

Noah smiled and moved towards her, slipping an arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "love you, too, sis, and I'm glad you don't mind either, because I'm always gonna be overprotective of you."

"Fine with me," Arin smiled, giving him a quick hug.

Rachel smiled at the exchange between the brother and sister. She felt a brief glimmer of jealousy towards their relationship, because part of her always wished she had a sibling to look out for her. The feeling quickly subsided when she realized that even though she didn't have any biological siblings, she had close friends who were like siblings, she'd soon have Arin as her official sister 'in-law' and her a soon-to-be husband would be just as overprotective of her as any older brother would be, so she was quite happy with her life.

...

Grabbing their bags and with waves to the others, the three stepped out of the house into the early December morning. It was definitely not warm out, so they were all bundled up in jackets and walked towards the car quickly to get in. Rachel was letting Noah drive, so after Arin slid into the backseat, he dropped his bag into the seat with her and then pulled the front passenger door open for Rachel. Soon he was climbing into the driver's side, adjusting his seat a little and getting the car started and turned heat on, not only to warm them up, but to help defrost the icy windows.

After letting the car warm up, Noah pulled away from the Berry's house and headed to the nearest coffee shop. They picked up some drinks for the trip to the airport and it wasn't long before they were on their way out of Lima.

For the first hour, the car was quiet, except for the radio that Noah had turned on that played a variety of popular music. He figured once they got closer to the city, he'd need to know if there was anything going on with traffic, in case he had to make a detour. They all listened to the music and sometimes would sing along lightly with a song they knew well, but most of the time they stayed quiet, lost in their own thoughts.

Rachel was still trying to think of places to take Arin and Noah once they had some free time to go sightseeing, so she turned a little in her seat, "Arin, have you thought about anything you'd like to do when we get there?" Rachel wondered.

"Do? I thought we were going to see Kurt, meet your friends and get the shoes," Arin admitted, raising a curious eyebrow at her.

"We are, but I was meaning for sightseeing. Is there anything you've ever wanted to do in the city?" Rachel asked. "If we can get done today, everything we need to, then we'll have all day tomorrow free, until we have to be at the airport."

"Oh!" Arin nodded and thought for a moment, "well, aside from the Statue of Liberty and Central Park, I haven't really thought about it. I guess I didn't think we'd have too much time to do anything else," she explained.

"I thought of those, too. It's probably going to be pretty cold, but if you guys want we could go to the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building," she admitted, "I live within a mile of Times Square and Central Park, so we could go there, too."

"Sounds good to me," Arin shrugged, "I'm open for anything."

"Okay, cool," Rachel smiled, "we'll have fun. I promise."

"I never doubted that," Arin replied, "I also wanted to mention something to you. Remember last night when you said that next weekend we could go to Columbus to get dresses for the wedding?"

"Yes," Rachel nodded, "what about it?"

"Sectionals is next Saturday in Columbus," Arin admitted, "so I don't know if you guys were planning to go, but I won't be able to do any dress shopping until afterward."

"That's right! I knew it was coming up. This could work out great, actually! What if some of the original New Directions members came down to support you guys?" Rachel asked with a grin, "I'm sure a bunch of them would like to go see you guys. Right, Noah?"

Noah shrugged, "yeah, we've done it before. I guess we could go down and get a hotel for the night. Depending on how long it's gonna take."

"We could. I'm sure it's gonna be easy to find dresses in the color I want, it'll just be fitting everyone, and you guys are going to need to go get suits soon, too," Rachel replied.

"We can do that this week or next. Let's just focus on getting to New York and when we get back we can figure that out. Getting the shoes is gonna kinda depend on the color of the wedding, right? I mean, if we can't get enough red shoes, we could go with black shoes, which might make more sense, because they'd go better with tuxes, and a white dress. And also, if the girls are wearing red dresses, won't the reds clash, if they're not exactly the same. We could still use red ties, flowers in our lapels and red accents, but if the bride's side is gonna all be in red, red shoes might be too much. I don't know. Just a thought," he shrugged again, keeping his eyes on the road.

Rachel and Arin exchanged glances, "who are you and what happened to my brother?" Arin laughed lightly.

"Nothing," he smirked, "the Converse idea is great, but I just got thinking about all the shades of red. It'll be easy to find red ties to match dresses, but it might be harder to find them all to match the red shoes, too," he shrugged, "besides, don't they always say that black goes with anything?"

"You do have a point," Rachel agreed, "it was different in school because all of the guy's Letterman's jackets were the same color, but red shoes, dresses, ties and other accents all might not match, so black shoes do make more sense. Can they be the black and white shoes? Not the all black. I don't like those as much," she admitted.

"They can be whatever you want, babe," Noah glanced at her and smiled, "the black and white ones are probably the most common Converse, or the most recognizable, so I'm sure they won't have an issue getting them. The red probably is, too. Just thought we should have an option, just in case we can't get enough red ones in time. Everyone should all have the same color."

"Good idea," Rachel leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "I'm going to text everyone and ask them what they think," she admitted.

"Okay. Do what you need. We should be at the airport in about thirty minutes," he said, as they passed a sign that gave the miles to certain places in the city.

...

Letting their conversation settle, Rachel sent a text to everyone about what they'd discussed. They all replied back that black and white would be fine and probably a better idea, so Rachel let her thoughts go to what color she wanted and decided to wait until they got to the store to be sure; she wanted to look at the red shoes in person before she made her final choice.

Arriving at the airport around the time Noah said they would, it was now just before eight-thirty. He pulled up to the rental car area and parked in the drop-off area, so they climbed out and gathered their bags and trash. Moving inside, Rachel talked to someone and explained what they were doing and the clerk understood, so she put Rachel's information in and promised to have a car ready for her the next day when they returned to the airport.

Heading towards their airline's desk, they picked up their tickets and then moved to the security line. It was early and there weren't too many people there, so it didn't take them too long to get through. Noah and Arin had a small duffel bag with their clothes and some personal items, and Rachel only had her purse, so there wasn't a lot to check out and after getting their shoes back on and making sure they had everything, it was about nine-fifteen, forty-five minutes before their flight would start boarding.

Stopping at a restaurant in the food court, they got a few snacks to eat and then headed towards their gate to wait. Soon they were lining up, passing over their boarding tickets and making their way onto the plane to find their seats. Noah, since he was the tallest, stashed his and Arin's bags in the luggage spaces above them, while Rachel and Arin took their seats; Arin taking the window, Rachel sitting in the middle and Noah taking his aisle seat when he sat down.

...

Arin, Noah and Deborah never traveled anywhere out of Ohio and in the past few years, since Arin had been in the Glee club, she had yet to fly anywhere for a competition. So far they all had been held in places close enough that a bus could drive them, so she'd never flown before and Noah had only flown once, during his and Rachel's Senior year when their Nationals was held in Washington, DC.

Take-off was a nervous moment for the unfamiliar fliers, but once the plane reached the cruising altitude and the seatbelt sign went off, Arin's white knuckles let go of the armrest and both siblings began to relax.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm gonna take a nap," Noah admitted, shifting a little so his back was to the aisle.

"I'd sleep but I can't after all the coffee I had," Arin commented, pulling out her iPhone, "so I'm gonna listen to music."

"I got decaf," Noah replied with a grin, "so no problems there."

"A nap sounds great," Rachel said softly, "I didn't get a lot of sleep."

Noah reached out and rested his left hand on her stomach, "well, turn around and lean towards me and we can nap together," he suggested.

Rachel did as he suggested and shifted until she hit the armrest of the seat and then joined her left hand with his, "how's this?"

"Perfect," Noah whispered, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek, "just think, babe. The next time we fly to New York you'll be Mrs. Puckerman," he whispered softly.

"I will be," she smiled brightly, turning her head to press a kiss to his lips, "I can't wait."

...

Rachel and Noah slept during the whole flight and Arin occupied herself listening to music and playing a game on her iPhone. As their plane got closer to New York, she found herself drawn to the window as the skyline came into view from the clouds. She took a few pictures with her camera and soon the captain came over the intercom to say they'd be landing shortly and he would be turning on the seatbelt sign, so they'd have to get back to their seats and start putting their things away. Reaching over, Arin nudged her brother and after a few seconds he and Rachel started to stir, "we're close to landing," she murmured.

"Whoa, really?" Noah asked, lifting his head a little to glance out the window, but couldn't see much from where he was sitting.

"Yeah, you guys have slept the whole time," she replied.

"Seems like we just got to sleep," Rachel admitted, sighing as she reluctantly let go of her fiancé and started to shift in her seat.

Noah nodded in agreement and reached up, rubbing his neck a little as he turned. "Best nap I've had in a long time, though."

Rachel smiled at him and leaned over, pressing a kiss to his lips, "we can nap anytime you want," she said, resting her hand on his cheek, before hooking her belt.

"I may just take you up on that sometime," he winked.

...

It wasn't long before the plane was landing on the runway at the airport. The landing was a lot easier on Noah and Arin than take-off had been and they were all glad their flight had gone smoothly. When the plane docked at it's gate, the three stood up and collected their bags and followed the line of passengers into the busy airport. Staying close together, Rachel showed them to the exit, since they didn't have any extra luggage to pick up at baggage claim, and once they'd reached the doors and stepped outside into the cool New York air, Rachel smiled at them, "welcome to New York!" She said happily, motioning around as she continued to walk towards where she usually hailed a taxi.

"Wow, this place is huge," Arin admitted, looking around, seeing the airport going on for miles and off in the distance from one way she could faintly see the Manhattan skyline.

"It is," Rachel nodded, "and it can be a bit intimidating, but since I've been living here for a few years, I'm pretty familiar with most of the areas; where to go and where not to," she explained, waving at the next taxi they saw and soon it came to a stop near them.

The three climbed into the backseat of the yellow SUV and Rachel expertly gave them her street and soon they were on their way into the city. Rachel was sitting in between Noah and Arin, so as they passed a place she knew about, she'd point it out and both of them were checking out what they could.

When the driver reached 51st Street and began heading west, she pointed out some of her favorite spots, but her top choice was knowing she lived on the same street as the famed Gershwin Theater, home of Wicked.

"We're here," Rachel said, as the taxi came to a stop halfway between 8th and 9th Avenue.

Noah opened his door, since he was on the side Rachel pointed to, and climbed out. Rachel handed the driver the payment for the trip, along with a nice tip and the man thanked her, as she and Arin climbed out the door Noah had. Soon the three were standing on the sidewalk in front of a bunch of three to four story brick buildings, all attached together.

A short staircase led up to a single door with windows on either side and three to four windows per building on each floor. The ground floor of most of the buildings contained small businesses and just feet from her stairs was a restaurant and bar, along with a sushi restaurant across the street and down the other way was an Italian restaurant.

"Wow! You live here?" Noah asked surprised.

"Yep. It's great because my friends and I love sushi, so we're there a lot and if we want drinks, I'm just feet from a bar," she explained, taking his hand and guiding them up a set of stairs to a wooden door and pushed it open.

While Rachel knew where she was going, Arin and Noah followed her to the back of a long hallway and started up a set of stairs, taking them to a second floor. Once there, she led them down another hallway to her apartment, with a view of the street they'd just been on. Digging out her keys, Rachel unlocked her door and pushed it open, going inside first to see it hadn't changed since she'd been there, "well, it's not much, but this is my place," she motioned around.

When Noah and Arin walked into the small apartment, they understood what she meant. The apartment itself was small, but it had all of the things needed to live. The large room they were currently in was her kitchen, living and dining room. She had a TV, a few small couches, a couple of bookshelves and cabinets scattered around the room with books and other items stored on them. She had a small four-seat dining table that was currently piled with mail her friend was collecting for her when she checked on her place.

"Come on in and get comfortable for a bit," Rachel said closing and locking the door behind them, motioning to an open door nearby, "my bathroom is right there, if you guys need it."

"Dibs!" Arin called out, dropping her bag by one of the couches and dashing into the room.

Noah smirked, "so, now what?" He asked, setting his bag next to his sister's and leaning against the back of the couch.

Rachel stepped closer to him, "well, I'd like to glance through my mail really quick and then I was going to grab the extra blankets from my room to let Arin make her bed up, then we can call Kurt and go over to his place," she explained, dropping her purse to the floor.

"Up to you," he said, slipping his arms around her waist, "or I could get the blankets while you look through your mail. Unless you don't want me digging around in your personal space."

"I've got nothing to hide," she replied honestly, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing a kiss to his lips, "and this will be ours in a few weeks, so I'm fine with that."

"Good to know," he smiled, holding her for a moment. "Same goes for me, and we need to talk about if we're going to add each other to our leases or figure out what we're going to do," he told her softly.

"Yes, that is something we'll have to talk about. I don't think it'll be too big of a deal to add each other, since we are getting married. It's not like we're just getting another roommate," she said honestly, "but let's talk about that later," she kissed him once more, "in the closet in my room is an extra set of sheets and a comforter. Can you get them?"

"Definitely," he nodded, giving her gentle squeeze as Arin came out of the bathroom, "how long until we leave?"

"Uh, maybe a half an hour at the most," she shrugged, stepping back and taking his hands.

Noah let her pull him up and leaned down to grab his bag and then kissed her cheek again, "sounds good," he replied, moving into the open door of her bedroom.

Stepping into Rachel's small bedroom, he glanced around and couldn't help the thoughts that came to his mind, "_man, and I thought my place was small. Rachel's is a lot smaller,_" he said to himself, seeing her bed taking up a large portion of her floorspace, coming out from the wall opposite from where he was standing. Aside from a desk and a dresser, she also had several colored plastic storage containers piled along the walls, each one with stickers marking it's contents.

Walking over to her bed, he dropped his bag onto it and then moved to her closet, pushing the doors around until he found the blankets she was talking about. Grabbing the sheets and comforter, he walked out of her room, "damn, babe. I thought my place was small. No offense, but this place is tiny compared to mine."

Rachel glanced up from the mail she was looking at and nodded, "yeah, I know. That's something I noticed when I was there," she admitted, "but this is big compared to some other places I've seen around here and for the location, it's worth it. I'm not here that much, either."

Noah handed his sister the things in his hands and then moved over to his fiancée, "that's understandable. I'm sure there's a lot of nightlife that you get involved in, huh?"

"Yes, but not the kind you think," she assured him. "Usually my shows run until nine or later, then sometimes my friends and I go meet for drinks at a restaurant, or downstairs," she motioned towards in the direction of the bar, "and a lot of our favorite places stay open until late. We don't usually go to clubs."

"Why not?" He wondered, pulling out a chair and taking a seat at the table.

"I don't know. I guess that's not my 'scene'. Sometimes I do or we might on a weekend, but none of us are really into going out and dancing, especially when I dance in a production," she explained.

"Good point," he agreed, reaching out and slipping his finger into one of the belt loops on her jeans and tugged her towards him until she landed in his lap, "but you would look amazing all dressed up to go out," he told her, "but you also always look amazing."

Rachel blushed at landing in his lap, but turned so she could look at him, then pressed a kiss to his lips, "thank you. Maybe sometime we can go out together," she suggested.

Noah nodded, slipping his arms around her waist, "I definitely think that's an option."

Arin had been trying not to intrude on their moment together, but she couldn't help wondering something her and Deborah had been thinking on for a while, "sorry, this may not be the right time to ask, but have you guys talked about how you are going to deal with everything while Rachel's doing her show?" She asked, moving towards them.

The couple nodded and Rachel bit her lip, "it has come up, but we have been saying we'll talk about it later. It is something we do need to talk about, but it's the last thing on my mind right now."

"I think our best option for now is to just see how things go. I'm not letting her quit the production, so if it means living apart for a while, then we will. I've got plenty of leave, so I figured I could take some long weekends or days off during the week, depending on when she's off and I can start looking into changing jobs or getting into the NYPD," Noah explained.

Rachel smiled at his offer and leaned in, pressing a kiss to his lips, "thank you. I'm still thinking about coming home, too."

"I know," Noah nodded, "you're gonna be here for a while with the show, and you've said you'd thought of coming home, but I'm not going to expect you to and I, at least, want to see about it. If things don't work out, then I can at least say I tried. I also know you're not going to make me pick you or my job. I love what I do and where I am, but I also love you, so it's not an easy choice, but I know it's something we're both going to have to figure out."

"Everything is gonna work out and we'll be together, wherever that ends up being," she promised, hugging him tightly, "I love you, too."

Noah smiled at her and kissed her, "I never doubted that at all," he assured her.

As much as Rachel wanted to stay where she was, she knew they had things to do, so she reached for her phone on the table and glanced at the time, "I don't mean to change the subject, but I think we need to get to Kurt's. It's a quarter to two already," she admitted.

"No worries. I know we gotta get going. You gonna call him first?" He wondered.

"Yeah. I want to make sure he's home," she replied, pulling up his number, "I think I know where he lives, but it'll be easiest to just take a taxi," she added, pulling his phone number up in her phone. "Stay quiet. I want to surprise him," she said before hitting the call button and putting the phone to her ear.

After two rings, Kurt answered it, when he saw it was Rachel, "hey Rachel! How are you?"

"I'm doing alright," Rachel smiled, "are you busy?"

"Nope. I was actually going to call you. It shouldn't take me too long to get your dress going, but I need some measurements," he admitted.

"I thought you might. That's why I was calling. A bunch of us were at my dads' house last night and we were talking and I knew I needed to get those to you, so I told them I'd call you today. What ones do you need?"

Kurt gave her a few of them that he needed and she played along like she was writing them down, and even asked him how to take a few of them. "Are you going to be home for a while? I can call you back in a little while and give you these. I'll have Arin or Deborah help me out," Rachel said casually.

"Yeah, I'll be here. Don't have any plans today, except a date with my DVR," he replied with a grin.

Rachel laughed lightly, "alright. I'll call you in a little while."

Saying their goodbyes, Rachel hung up her phone and grinned at Noah, "that was easy. He'll be home all night."

"Great! Then let's get going," Noah replied.

...

Arin grabbed a few things from her bag and Rachel made sure she had Kurt's address before the three left her place and made their way back outside. They decided to walk down to the corner of the street and Rachel pointed out a few of the other places she spent a lot of time at, on the way.

Flagging down a cab, Rachel glanced at the note and read it off to the driver and soon they were on their way again, driving through the streets of Manhattan. Kurt lived east of the southern part of Central Park, so he was definitely away from Rachel, but still within an area of the park, that she liked to jog towards during the warmer summer months when she wanted to get some extra sun. When the taxi came to a stop on the corner of the street they needed, Noah paid their fare and climbed out of the yellow car.

"I don't know how you can stand taking a taxi around everywhere," Noah murmured as the car drove off.

"Parking is hard to find in certain areas or very expensive, so it's pointless to have a car. It's easier for someone to just drop you off and then you don't have to worry about where you parked or walking to your car, if it's in an unsafe area," Rachel replied, slipping her arm around his as they began walking down the street towards Kurt's building.

"Someone's a little on edge," Arin commented, quite familiar with her brother and noticed during the two taxi rides they'd already taken, his hand kept moving to his right thigh.

Rachel glanced at Arin, "what do you mean?" She asked, then turned her gaze on her fiancé, "Noah?"

"I feel a little lost without my gun," he said softly, patting his leg where Arin had been looking, "this is where my gun usually is. When I'm on the job, I've learned to be really cautious and that extends to my off-time, too. I can't help seeing everyone as a threat, especially being in a strange place to me."

"Oh, Noah, I didn't realize you were that uncomfortable. You should have said something," Rachel said honestly.

"I'm not uncomfortable, I'm just being extra cautious. Keeping my eyes open a little wider, that's all. You've lived here a while and from what I know, you've never had anything happen and I'm glad for that, but I also wanna keep it that way," he told her, "and part of this is from never being here and hearing all the horror stories about what goes on in bigger cities. I'm sure the more I'm here the less on edge I'll be. Just need some time, that's all."

Rachel smiled at that, "time we can definitely give you," she promised, "and besides, I think you're pretty sexy as a cop."

"Oh you do?" He glanced at her, "really?"

The blush that grew on Rachel's cheeks confirmed his question, "a few mornings that you've gotten ready for work and been dressed in your full uniform... I've had to take a cold shower after you leave."

Noah's mouth fell open in shock. He knew she was attracted to him, but didn't realize how much and he grinned brightly, "well, I'm glad you enjoy the view and I'll keep that in mind for next time," he winked, leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead.

Though Rachel wanted to continue their conversation, she also knew if they did, Arin would probably get uncomfortable, so she let his comment settle. After a few moments, she noticed Kurt's building number and found he lived on a street much like hers. Small businesses on the lower floor of three- to four-story brick buildings. "We're here," she said, motioning to their right.

Following Rachel, the three climbed the stairs up to a door and walked into a small hallway. His apartment number was '1F', so they knew he lived on the first floor and headed down the hallway until they came to a stop at a door with the right letter and number on it. Rachel reached up and gently knocked on the door. She had thought of coming up with a surprise for him, but realized just being there would probably be a surprise enough, so she passed off her thought and waited until he answered.

Hearing some shuffling and then a gasp on the other side of the door, it flew open moments later to show a very surprised Kurt, dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, "Rachel, Puck, Arin! What are you guys doing here?" He exclaimed happily, rushing out the door to throw his arms around Rachel.

A little caught off guard, Rachel took a moment to react, but happily put her arms around him, "hey Kurt. We wanted to surprise you. We came to the city for the weekend. It's a long story, but thought on our trip I could stop in and you could get the measurements you needed for my dress and we could catch up," she explained as they pulled away.

"Wow, this is definitely a surprise," he agreed, sharing a quick hug with Arin and then moved to Noah, "and I definitely want to catch up. Come in. It's not much and if I would have known I was having company, I would have cleaned up a little," he admitted.

"It's alright, man," Noah assured him as they all moved into his apartment, looking to be about the same size as Rachel's.

From their brief hug, Rachel noticed that Kurt had grown up in every way. His still had a similar look to the teen she once knew, but he'd toned his body a lot since high school and though she knew he was into fashion, she was happy to see him dressed down in jeans and a t-shirt.

After closing the door, Kurt moved to stand in front of Rachel, "the last few years have been good to you, Rachel. You look great," he said, smiling at her.

"Thank you. The same goes for you," she said, taking her jacket off as they all moved towards his few couches.

"Thanks," Kurt smiled, "I started going to the gym in college. I also realized that I don't always have to dress flashy. I guess you could say a little bit of Finn rubbed off on me, too," he said motioning down to what he was wearing.

"There's nothing wrong with that. I've found all the sweaters and things I wore in high school didn't seem practical anymore, so I went with a more casual look," she explained, "and I'm more comfortable in jeans, than I am in skirts and dresses all the time."

"Understandable," Kurt took a deep breath, "wow. I'm just really surprised you're here. I'm happy about it, but still shocked. So what brings you guys to NYC for the weekend?"

"That's a bit of a long story, but we can talk while you're getting my measurements. We actually can't stay too long, because we have to be somewhere else soon, but you're welcome to join us. I want to catch up with you and we need your shoe size," Rachel explained.

While they were sitting down, Kurt moved into his room and got out his tape measure and a notebook and returned to the living room, "my shoe size?" Rachel went on to explain their decision to wear Converse shoes at the wedding and how her friend worked at the store, which is why they'd returned to the city for the weekend. "Wow, that's original, but surprisingly I'm not shocked. I actually think it's a great idea," Kurt admitted with a smile, "it is surprising, but I think it'd be neat for the entire bridal party and others to be wearing them. I'm assuming all our Glee Club friends are going to wear them, too?"

"They are," Rachel nodded, "just like old times."

Kurt smiled, taking a seat on his coffee table right in front of Rachel, "yeah it is. I really wish we didn't lose touch, but I'm glad we're talking now," he admitted.

"Me too," she nodded, "it happens, but what's important is that we're talking again and we can rebuild our friendship. I look forward to finding out more about the new Kurt Hummel."

"And I'm looking forward to getting to know the new Rachel Berry," he smiled, "well, I guess it's more like the soon-to-be Mrs. Rachel Puckerman, huh?"

"Yes, it is," Rachel smiled brightly, "Mrs. Rachel Puckerman. I really like the sound of that. I can't wait until it's official."

Noah smiled at her and nodded, "same here, babe. I'm looking forward to when we're finally husband and wife."

...

A/N7: Hope you all enjoyed! Please let me know how you feel! I haven't gotten a lot of reviews the last few times I've updated and I hope I haven't lost you all! I know it's been two months since my last update, but I have my reasons, which I'll explain below. The next chapter will finish up their trip to New York and then I'm gonna do a summary / time jump to the wedding, to skip over the rest of the planning and the holidays.

A/N8: **Health update** (for some it may be news) - In late-April / early-May, I started having some abdominal problems, getting sick when I eat certain things. I saw my doctor. She sent me for an ultrasound thinking it's my gallbladder. The ultrasound came back normal, so I was sent to a specialist. The specialist also agreed it's gallbladder and ordered another test to check. I got the results two days ago and it found abnormalities, so I have an appointment with a surgeon to discuss surgery. I've been feeling kinda of cruddy the last few months and I've been able to keep up on some fics, but others are not getting updated as often, so I'm doing what I can. Due to some medical company issues, I have to have it done before the end of June, so sometime in the next few weeks I'll be having surgery to remove my gallbladder. I hear the recovery is not too bad, a week or two, so with the way I've updated things it might not be noticed, but I just wanted to let you all know, in case you don't see any updates from me for a while. I will keep my Tumblr and Twitter updated through the recovery as much as I can - I'm EJ8302 on both of them, so if you wanna keep up with what's going on, find me there. Thank you for all the well wishes and support I've gotten recently, it really means a lot!

**FANFICTION DOT NET ISSUES (IMPORTANT) - **It's come to my attention in the past week or so that FF is doing a lot of changes to their system and 'purging' or deleting certain fics that break the rules. I have not had it happen to me, yet and I hope it doesn't, but if you guys ever want to read my fics and they're not here, I have them ALL posted at my LJ account 'sapphiresfic dot livejournal dot com'. I am also in the process getting on Archive Of Our Own, 'AO3', and once I do, I'll be posting on there, also. A few of my author friends have already had a fic of theirs taken down and I know many authors are removing all of their fics to get away from FF completely, so in case you're wondering where your favorite fics or author's are going, that's why / where. I will be keeping my fics up on FF, so it's not going to change, but I do have 'back ups' in other places for you all to read them and once I get an account at AO3, I'll let you know what it is.

...


	17. Chapter 17

Title: Broken Road, Part 17/?

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

...

**Reminder:** The rating of this story as a whole is 'T/PG-13'. Only chapters 10-12 are considered a rating of 'M/R' due to content.

...

It didn't take long for Kurt to get the measurements he needed for Rachel's dress. Afterward, he took Rachel into his room to show her the fabric he'd gotten, along with the sketches he had for her dress and she loved what he'd come up with. They talked a little about some details and when she was looking at the two shades of red that he'd gotten as options for accents, she realized that black shoes would be the best choice for the wedding, and told him to hold off on making the accents, until she could get dresses for her bridesmaids and maid of honor.

Understanding what she meant, the two settled the conversation and moved back to the living room where Arin and Noah were sitting, "so, you said your friend manages the Converse store here in the city? Where is it?" Kurt asked curiously.

"In Soho and there is a subway station like right across the street, so if there's a yellow line nearby, we can take it to the store," Rachel replied.

"Actually, there is one about two to three blocks away. I've used it many times to get into Soho," he admitted, "so if you guys don't mind a bit of walking, we can get going."

"We're visiting New York, so we gotta at least ride the subway once while we're here," Arin commented, "right?"

"Exactly," Kurt nodded.

"You guys know where you're going, so Arin and I will just follow you," Noah added.

"Great!" Rachel grinned, "let's get going."

...

After a few moments of shuffling, Kurt got his things and soon the four of them were walking out into the cool winter day. Arin and Noah were following Kurt and Rachel, who were catching up and taking the lead because they knew where they were going. The streets were busy with holiday shoppers and when they reached the right subway station, they found the right line and waited for it to arrive. In the time they were talking, Rachel learned that Kurt had gone to a small fashion school in the city and worked part-time at a small fashion design studio; it was enough to 'pay the bills', but Kurt dreamed of owning and running his own successful fashion line.

In the time they were talking, the subway showed up and they climbed onto the quiet car, not as busy as Noah expected, but Kurt commented that once they got closer to the major shopping areas it would get more packed. Finding seats together, they settled in for the trip and Kurt and Rachel continued to talk, sharing more about their past, things they did around town, what Rachel had been doing, and the show she was getting into soon.

As Kurt mentioned, as soon as they reached stations that were closer to shopping centers, more people piled onto the cars, carrying various colored shopping bags. Rachel and Kurt were used to the crowded subways, but for Noah and Arin, it was new and they were definitely uncomfortable being in such a small space with so many people. Neither of them were really used to a big city, since they were both born, raised and still living in Lima, a tiny town, compared to New York City.

When they reached their destination, the four headed up to daylight and once their eyes adjusted, Rachel pointed across to the opposite corner, where the Converse store sat. Crossing the streets to get to the other corner, they finally came to a stop right outside the store.

"You do have the list, right?" Rachel asked, glancing at Arin.

Arin laughed lightly, "yes, I do have it," she promised, digging into her pocket for the folded up piece of paper she'd been writing everyone's shoe sizes on.

"Awesome!" Rachel smiled, stepping inside when Noah pulled the door open for them.

Noah let the other three go first and he followed them in, before immediately being met with the wall of red, white and blue Converse shoes, that were stacked up in a certain way to look like the US flag, "that's awesome!" He admitted.

"Yeah, it's really neat how they did that. It's something they have in every store across the country," Rachel replied.

"Welcome to the Converse store. Is there anything I can help you with today?" One of the sales girls ask, walking over to them, but when Rachel turned to look at her, she recognized her, "you're here to see Brooke, right?"

Rachel nodded, "yes, we are. Is she here?"

"Yeah, let me go get her. One second," the girl nodded, and headed towards the back of the store.

The store didn't just carry shoes, they had clothes and other accessories, so they moved further inside and began looking around while they waited. It wasn't long before a young woman walked into the store, dressed in jeans, Converse and a t-shirt with the store's logo on it, along with her brunette hair pulled back in a pony tail, "Rachel! Oh my God! What are you doing here?" Brooke exclaimed, rushing over to her as soon as she saw her.

"Surprise!" Rachel replied, sharing a hug with her friend, "Noah, his sister and I came into the city for the weekend, to hang out and we also came to see you," Rachel explained.

"Me? What for?" Brooke asked curiously as they pulled apart.

"I'll tell you in a second. First, I want you to meet some people," Rachel smiled happily, turning a little and motioned to Kurt and Arin, "this is a friend from high school, Kurt and this is Noah's little sister, Arin, my maid of honor and soon-to-be officially my little sister, but she already is," Rachel paused, reaching out and taking Noah's hand in hers, "and this handsome man is Noah, my fiancé. Everyone, this is Brooke. She and her twin sister were two of my roommates for a couple of years while we were all at NYU," she finished.

"Oh wow! Hey, everyone!" Brooke smiled, shaking Kurt and Arin's hands, "it's nice to meet you all," she admitted, turning to Noah to shake his. Leaning towards Rachel, she grinned, "damn, Rach, he's even hotter in person. You snagged a keeper!" She commented softly, but knew the others could hear her.

"Yes, he is," Rachel nodded, grinning brightly, "I'm definitely not letting him go."

Noah couldn't help the blush that grew on his cheeks at Brooke's compliment and Rachel's words, "the feeling is mutual, babe," he said honestly, looking at Rachel, before turning to Brooke, "thanks for the compliment."

"No problem," Brooke smiled, "so what brings you here?" She motioned around the store.

"We need your shoe size, along with Courtney, Ian and Tammy's," Rachel admitted, "and I hoped you could call and ask them that, along with inviting them down to meet you. I'm sure you get off in the next hour or two and I know they're all off the weekend, but they don't know we're here and I wanted to surprise them. I also hoped that we," Rachel motioned between all of them, "could go to dinner to hang out and you guys could get to know each other a little."

Brook smiled, "that sounds like a great idea! I can do that, "and I get off in," she glanced at her watch, "about an hour, so you guys got here at the perfect time. You want me to just call to ask them what their shoe sizes are and have them come down so we can go to dinner after I get off?"

"Exactly," Rachel nodded, "and once you do that, I'll tell you why we need their shoe sizes."

...

Though still slightly confused, Brooke figured it had to do with the wedding, so she went along and called her sister first. She already knew her shoe size, but asked to meet her at the store by five, so they could go out to dinner. Her sister agreed, and then she called Tammy and Ian. Asking them their shoe sizes confused them, but they gave the information to to her, and within ten minutes, Brooke was walking back to where Rachel, Arin, Kurt and Noah were looking around, "alright, I got them," she held up a piece of paper, "and my sister and I wear the same size."

"Great! And they're on their way?" Rachel asked hopeful.

"Yep, they'll be here by five, when I get off. So why do you need our shoe sizes?" Brooke wondered.

Rachel stepped a few feet away and picked up the most traditional and recognizable black and white low-cut Converse shoe, "we have a list of about twenty-five people, you guys included, that need them. Noah and I have decided that our entire bridal party and our parents are going to wear them for the wedding, instead of dress shoes and our friends who'll also be there want to, also," Rachel explained, "so I thought you might be able to help us out. I knew if we just went to a store in Lima or even Columbus, they probably wouldn't have a lot in stock and would have to order them. Given that we're on a time crunch, I hoped you, being a Converse store manager, would have more in stock or could get them easier than we would be able to."

Brooke nodded in understanding and grinned brightly, "you know, when I was on the phone, I had that thought, but I wasn't sure. I didn't think you'd ever think of something like that, but I can definitely hook you up," she confirmed.

"You can? Awesome!" Rachel grinned, wrapping her arms around her in a hug, "thank you!"

"No problem," Brooke assured her, "but I'm curious how you got the idea to do this."

"When Noah, Kurt and I were in high school, we were all in Glee Club together. Arin is in it now at our same high school, and it's kinda of a tradition to wear them during some of our numbers. We're getting married at the school and we realized it'd be a great way to have that and the shoes to tie our past and present together," Rachel admitted, "and they'll also be more comfortable than dress shoes."

"They definitely will be and that's so cool!" Brooke smiled, "let's get started. I make sure to keep that style in sock, because it's the most commonly requested one, but depending on how many sizes, I may have to order some. Let me get a notepad and we can get started."

...

Brooke wrote her own list from what Arin had and the new sizes they'd gotten, before heading into the store room. She first brought up the ones for Kurt, Noah, Arin and Rachel, before returning to gather up the rest. The four tried on their shoes and were glad they fit, so they put them back into the boxes and kept them apart, so they wouldn't get them mixed up and waited for her to return.

She was gone about twenty minutes, but soon came back out wheeling a big cart with boxes piled on it, "well, do you want the good news or the bad news?" Brooke asked, moving over to them.

Rachel sighed, "the bad first."

"This," she motioned to the stack, "is a lot of shoes and I don't know how you're gonna carry them all," Brooke laughed lightly, "but the good news is, I have them all in stock. I get a shipment in Monday, so if I didn't have, they would have been in that one."

"You have all them, really?" Rachel gasped, jumping up and moving to look at the cart.

"We'll have to double check, but I'm pretty sure I got them all," she nodded, glancing at them.

"Do you have a sharpie or something I could write on the side of the boxes with?" Rachel asked, "we can go through and I can write someone's name on each box and then we'll know for sure."

Brooke nodded and pulled one from her back pocket, "good idea."

...

While they waited for the others to show up, Rachel, Brooke and Arin began going through the shoe list, confirming they had the right sizes and marking boxes with names so they wouldn't have to do it again later. At the end, along with Rachel, Kurt, Noah and Arin's that were marked and added to the stack, Rachel was relieved to find they did have them all, "this is awesome! Now, I'm sure you know your size, but when they get here, I'll have Tammy, Ian and Courtney try theirs on just to be sure and then we should be able to go, once you're off. Though I am wondering how we're gonna get these all home."

"Well, to save space, Ian, Tammy, Courtney and I can keep ours until we go to Ohio for the wedding," Brooke offered.

"Me, too," Kurt replied, "I live here," he added, when Brooke looked at him curiously.

"Oh! I thought you lived in Lima, too," she admitted.

"Nope. Moved here when we graduated. Rachel and I just lost touch for a while. I'm making her wedding dress," Kurt explained.

"Sweet!" Brooke smiled, "I can't wait to see it!"

"How many shoes come in a case?" Rachel asked Brooke.

"Depends on the style, but I can probably get twenty in a box. Why?" Brooke glanced at her and then realized what she wanted to do, "you want to put all of them in a case and make it your checked luggage, huh?"

Rachel nodded, "yeah. If you guys keep your shoes, that leaves nineteen boxes. If you have a case that's not broken down yet, we can put them in it. Though someone is gonna have to carry it," she turned to look at her fiancé, "would you mind?"

Noah smirked, "no. I can carry it. The shoes aren't that heavy, anyway."

"Great! Now. unfortunately, we can't afford everyone's, so we're paying for our bridal party's and our parents. Our friends in Lima have paid us some money for their shoes, so I hope you guys would be okay paying for yours, too," Rachel said, looking at Brooke.

"That's totally cool. It's worth the money," she assured her, glancing up to see the other three walking in, "and you can ask them now to be sure."

Rachel turned her head to the door and grinned, "awesome!"

"Over here!" Brooke called out, waving at the others, and soon they were walking over.

"Oh my God! Rachel!" An auburn haired girl gasped, rushing to hug her, "what are you doing here?"

Rachel grinned, "shopping, sightseeing, catching up; a little bit of everything," she replied as they pulled apart, "everyone, this is Tammy," she motioned to her, then pointed to the guy with the short brown curly hair and the other girl that definitely was Brooke's twin, "and that's Ian and Courtney," Rachel smiled and turned, introducing Kurt, Arin and Noah again.

Shaking hands, the large group greeted each other, exchanging pleasantries and then all of them noticed the cart full of shoe boxes. "So, what are we doing here? Just for the surprise or is there something else going on?" Courtney asked.

Going through the explanation again, the three gladly tried on their shoes before the group moved over to check out. Brooke gave them her friends and family discount, and between that and all the money they'd already gotten from their friends back in Ohio, they didn't have to pay as much as they expected and soon they were packing all of the shoes to go home to Ohio into one box, while the New Yorkers kept theirs out, to bring along when they flew in Ohio themselves, "now, just promise me you won't forget them," Rachel commented, looking around at the five, who quickly assured her they'd remember them.

With everything paid for and only a short time to wait until Brooke got off, the group moved over to some benches to kill time. While they waited, they discussed dinner and Rachel suggested someplace near her place and everyone agreed; her friends were familiar with the restaurants near there and Kurt, Noah and Arin were open for anything.

When Brooke finally got off, the group left the shop and headed back to the subway station. Since Rachel had taken the trip from there to her place many times, she knew the closest station to stop at, so they climbed onto the right line and soon were off.

...

The ten to fifteen minute trip dropped them off at the 49th Street subway station, just a few blocks up from the center of Times Square. Rachel definitely wanted Arin and Noah to see the Times Square, so she suggested walking back to her place to drop the large box of shoes off, then the whole group could return for dinner, some sightseeing and a chance to experience the busy nightlife of New York City.

Rachel and her three friends, who had made the walk to her house many times, led the group, and Rachel found herself catching up with Kurt the most. When they began walking down West 51st Street, Kurt knew right where they were, "oh my God! You live on the same street as the Gershwin Theater?" He exclaimed, looking at Rachel.

"I do," Rachel nodded, grinning, "I'm not on the same block, I'm past it, but very close."

"I'm so jealous! I looked at a place near here, but it was too expensive. Then again it was for a two bedroom and I can hardly afford a one," he admitted.

"Understandable. I have a one bedroom, about the same size as your place, actually. I lucked out when I got it and the rent hasn't gone up, so I'm thankful for that. It's near everything I need and when I start my new production, it's less than a mile from the theater I'll be working at," Rachel explained.

"That's awesome," Kurt smiled, "I can't wait to see you in a show. If I would have known you'd been in anything, I would have gone to see you," he turned to glare at Noah, "and if you had kept in touch with her, so the rest of us hadn't lost touch with her, we would have known she was in one."

Noah sighed, "yeah, trust me, I know. It was a mistake and I'm glad we're making up for it now, but it's not uncommon for high school friends to lose touch. Hell, the only reason we still talk is because your dad married my best friends mom. Do you really think you would have kept in touch with anyone from back home if you'd have moved here and they weren't married?" Noah wondered.

Kurt opened his mouth to respond, but closed it, realizing what he was getting at, "I suppose you're right," he agreed.

Rachel slipped her arm through Kurt's as they walked, "we can't change the past. We lost touch, but we're talking now. That's what's important," she said, helping end the conversation.

...

Passing the famed Gershwin Theater, home of Wicked, they went across another intersection and soon were coming to a stop in front of her apartment. Rachel, Arin and Noah went up long enough to drop the shoes off in her place and once the three rejoined the others, they decided to walk back towards Times Square to stop at a popular pizza place, so Noah and Arin could taste real New York style pizza and so they'd be closer to the heart Times Square.

It was a lot to take in for the New York newbies, but Arin and Noah enjoyed the sights and were happy to just follow the residents and experience what they could of the city. When they walked into the pizza place Rachel and her friends usually picked to eat at, they waited a few moments for a table to be ready and soon were sitting down together.

"What do you think so far?" Rachel asked, leaning into her fiancé.

"It's huge and probably easy to get lost in. I'm glad we have you guys to show us around. It's really cool. There's a lot going on and plenty to see and do," Noah replied honestly.

"Yes there is," she agreed, "are you on edge as much as earlier?"

Noah laughed lightly, "yeah, even more, but I'm trying to ignore it," he assured her.

"Is that because you're a cop back in Lima?" Tammy asked him.

"Yeah," he nodded, "I didn't realize you guys knew that."

"Rachel told us when she let us know you guys were getting married," Courtney replied.

"And she is definitely one lucky young woman," Ian commented, eyeing Noah and grinning, "do you happen to have any single gay coworkers?"

"Not that I know of," Noah smirked, "and even if I did, Kurt called dibs on them first, so talk to him," he added, glancing at Kurt.

The whole table erupted in laughter, including Kurt, who also was turning red, "gee thanks, Puck," he said, reaching around Rachel to nudge him playfully, then sighed, "and sadly none of the single ones are gay, unless you have new ones I don't know of."

"Puck? Is that a nickname?" Courtney wondered.

"Yeah," Noah nodded, "short for 'Puckerman' my last name. I used Puck through most of school, so anyone who met me then still calls me that. I only let Rachel and my family and her dads call me by my real name."

"I personally don't like calling him 'Puck'. I'm aware it's short for his last name, but it just sounds wrong. Besides, Noah is a lovely name and I think you should be proud to use it," Rachel admitted, looking at him.

"It is a cool name, but it's not very badass. That's why I like Puck," he winked at her, and then leaned in, "and I thought you liked me being a badass," he added, pressing a kiss to her lips.

Whistles and 'awwws' echoed over the table as Rachel's friends saw her and Noah kiss for the first time. They'd been keeping the PDA to a minimum aside from hand holding or simple touches, but now, Rachel couldn't help sharing how happy she was, even though she started blushing at what she was hearing as they kissed. "I do like you being a badass, but I also like you being a loveable teddy bear," she replied with a smile as their lips broke apart.

Noah returned her smile, and reached up, resting a hand gently on her cheek, "I'll always be your teddy bear, if you want me to be," he promised.

Rachel leaned in and rested her forehead against his and joined his hand with hers, "I know you will be."

...

The large group happily sat around the table, talking and drinking sodas and teas while they waited for their pizza to arrive. Rachel's friends were glad to see their 'old' Rachel back; the one who was happy and full of life. They knew she hadn't been herself for almost a year, because of her previous relationship and knew Noah was the big help to return her to her normal. Her friends didn't know the extent that Daniel took his stalking; they only knew of the flowers and trying to see her a few times, but she hadn't told them anything else. She didn't want to hide it, but she wasn't sure when was a real good time to bring it up. After thinking about it, she picked up her phone and sent a text to Kurt, just as their pizzas arrived, "_I know you know what happened to me, but I haven't told my other friends yet. They know he stalked me, but not the last part. Not sure when or how to tell them._"

Kurt felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, so he pulled it out and was surprised to find a message from Rachel. Opening it up, he glanced it over and thought about his response. He'd found out the night it happened, because Mercedes called him and let him listen on speakerphone while Rachel explained everything. He understood why Rachel waited to tell her friends; to keep them from worrying while they were apart, so now that they were there she could bring it up, "_that's a tough call. You should say something, since you're only here the weekend. I don't think they'll want to find out when they go for the wedding. Maybe now is a good time,_" he answered back.

When Rachel got his message, she turned to look at him and nodded, a way for her to answer without having to reply, but before she could bring it up, Brooke spoke up, "so, Puck, you're a cop. What's your scariest call you've ever had?"

"My scariest? Wow, that's a tough one. There have been a few pretty close calls," he admitted, taking a deep breath.

Realizing this was the perfect opportunity for it to come up, Rachel turned her phone to Noah and showed him the two messages between her and Kurt. Noah read the messages and nodded, turning to her friends, "actually I do have one that happened recently that was pretty scary," he started.

"Wait! Before you answer, does Rachel know or is she going to freak out?" Tammy asked, glancing at Rachel, "I'm sure you guys haven't talked too much about his job, or have you?"

"We have, but not a lot. I won't get freaked out," she promised, glancing at Noah, "though that is something we should talk about one day."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know, that I can talk about. Some things I can't discuss, though," he told her.

"That's understandable. Go on," she patted his hand and then moved it to rest on his thigh.

As soon as Noah saw Rachel and Kurt's messages, and with the question her friend had asked, he knew what she was hinting at; she wanted him to talk about what happened to her, but he decided to keep her name out of it until the end, "well, I'm not just a 'cop'. I'm a SWAT officer. Lima, the town we're from and I live in, has a part-time SWAT team, because we don't have calls all the time, so we patrol just like usual police officers, too. My partner, Matt, is one of my best friends and went through high school and Glee with us," he motioned to Kurt and Rachel, then moved on to explain what happened to Rachel, keep names from the story and saying 'parents', because he knew 'dads' would give it away quicker. When he got to the last part, about him and Matt being in the room with them, everyone at the table was in shock that someone could do that to another person and Noah reached down to lace his fingers with Rachel's on his leg, "we finally talked the guy into giving up and while Matt pinned him to the floor and handcuffed him, I rushed to the girl to free her from the crap he'd tied her up with," he finished, glancing at his fiance.

Though the twins and Ian didn't catch it, Tammy did and she immediately had a feeling there was more to the 'story' he hadn't told them yet, "so what happened to her? To him?"

Noah lifted their joined hands and pressed a kiss to Rachel's, "maybe she should answer that question," he said softly, looking at Rachel.

Tammy gasped, the first to realize Rachel was the girl in the story, "oh my God!"

Rachel bit her lip and nodded, "yeah. Daniel did that to me. He's currently being held in prison until he can be indicted for attempted rape, breaking a restraining order and a few other charges."

Courtney and Brooke's eyes widened in shock and Ian jumped up, rushing around the table to her, "oh, sweetie, that had to have been so scary," he murmured, slipping his arm around her shoulders and giving her a hug while she was still sitting down.

"It was," she agreed, returning his hug the best she could and then looked at the three girls and saw them wiping their eyes, "and it could have been a lot worse, but Noah and Matt stopped him before he got too far. Noah has been with me since it happened and he's helped me through the worst of it. I'm not saying I'm perfect, but it's over and now I'm moving on. I'm putting my focus into what's important and that's my true friends, my family and marrying the man I truly love," she said honestly, smiling at them as her own eyes teared up.

"I'm so glad you're doing better," Courtney admitted, "when did this happen?"

"Earlier this week. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it sooner, but I wasn't sure how to bring it up," she explained.

"It's okay. I'm actually glad you waited to tell us in person. I probably would have freaked out if you had told me over the phone," Brooke replied with a blush.

"That's why I didn't tell you right away. I didn't want any of you to worry about me. I'm doing okay, really. Sure, I've had some bad dreams and have been a little hesitant with certain things, but I'm getting better," she assured them.

Tammy nodded in understanding, and reached over to take her other hand, "then that's what is important. I never liked your ex; I just had a bad feeling about him."

Rachel squeezed her hand and smiled, "I know and I wish I would have listened to you when you told me your concerns that one time, but I was blinded by the feelings I thought I had for him," she paused and turned to look at her fiancé, "what do you think about Noah?"

"I think," Tammy paused and glanced at Noah, as if sizing him up and pulled her hand back from Rachel to grab her drink, "that he's exactly who you've needed all this time. Even in the short time since I've been around you today, Puck, I can honestly say you guys make an awesome couple and I look forward to getting to know more about you and I'm happy to be a part of your wedding," she held her glass up, toasting to the couple.

"I'll drink to that," Ian agreed, holding out his drink.

All the others held their glasses up, gently tapping them together and taking a sip and Noah smiled at them, relieved to have gotten the 'stamp of approval' from her friends, "I'm really glad to hear that. I was definitely hoping you all would see that I really do love her and would approve of our relationship. I'm thankful that you do," he smiled at them and looked at Rachel, "I'll do my best to always make you happy and I know we've got a lot of things to talk about, but I do love you and I know that no matter what, we'll work it out."

Rachel smiled brightly and hugged him, "I know we will."

...

Though Rachel's friends had their own concerns, they could see that Rachel was doing well and had mostly recovered from her ordeal, so they let the conversation end. Instead, they put their focus onto finishing their meal, and discussing the rest of the evening and the next day. When Ian, Courtney, Brooke and Tammy found out that Noah, Arin and Rachel were leaving the next evening and were planning sightseeing for the whole day, before their flight, they, along with Kurt, happily agreed to join them.

Over the rest of the dinner, they came up with a great plan for their Sunday adventure. It would start by meeting early so they could have plenty of time to visit the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and Central Park, to travel between them and to still enjoy the experience without worrying that Rachel, Noah and Arin would miss their flight.

They'd been at the restaurant for two hours, enjoying the time, but wanted to get going, so once their bill was paid, the large group made their way towards the bright lights of Times Square. Since they'd have to be up early the next day, they agreed to spend the next few hours wandering around, letting Arin and Noah get a taste of the hustle and bustle of NYC, before parting for the night.

...

Arin and Noah admitted it was overwhelming to see such a busy area of the city. They were used to quiet streets and people around in town centers and malls, but not on the scale that Times Square had. Pushing aside some nerves, but being cautious of what was going on around them, they took some pictures, soaked in everything they could and even moved into a few shops to pick up some souvenirs for Deborah and some friends back home.

A little before ten, the large group started to part for the night, promising to meet the next morning at six-thirty. Soon Arin, Rachel and Noah were walking back to her place and arrived just after ten, "that was fun. Your friends are pretty cool," Arin commented, moving into the apartment.

"It was. I'd hoped and am glad you guys get along," Rachel replied with a smile, looking at Noah as they all took their jackets off and laid them over the back of the couch.

Noah returned her smile, "like I said, I'm glad they approve," he told her, slipping his arms around her waist, "it was also neat to see some of the city in person. Tomorrow will be fun," he added, "I hope everything works out and we can get to every place you all planned out."

"Me, too, and I also hope the weather stays like it was today. Overcast and cool, but not raining or freezing, so we can enjoy everything without worrying that we're going to be cold or wet all day," Rachel said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Well, I'm sure if you got cold, I could keep you warm," he winked, pressing a kiss to her lips, "wanna go to bed?"

"Though I don't know how much sleep I'm gonna get, keep it down so I can actually sleep," Arin teased lightly.

Rachel's cheeks began to turn red, "Arin, we're waiting until we get married for that."

"Yeah, I know, but there's a lot more to do in bed besides having sex," she replied.

"And just how do you know that?" Noah asked quickly.

"I'm a teenager, Noah. I'm not a little kid anymore," she smirked, "I've heard plenty."

Noah groaned, "just please learn from my mistakes, Arin."

"Oh trust me, I have," she assured him, "you guys can have the bathroom first and I'll use it when you're done."

...

At Arin's quick change of the subject, they settled the conversation and for a little while they shuffled around, to get ready for bed. Saying 'goodnight' to Arin, Noah and Rachel finally headed into her room, giving all of them some privacy.

"I hope you don't mind, but I'm gonna pack some things before I get into bed," Rachel admitted, moving to her closet.

"No, I don't mind. I thought you might want to do that," he agreed, pulling back her blankets and stretching out on the side of the bed he had been sleeping on in Lima.

Rachel nodded at him, grabbing a duffel bag and moved back to the bed, "I just want to grab some things. When I went home, I didn't expect to need a lot of fancy clothes, but I'm sure we'll be going out and there is definitely going to be a rehearsal dinner and things like that, so I thought I'd bring some more clothes home."

"You don't have to explain to me, babe. It's cool you did, but not necessary," he told her honestly, one word she kept saying sticking out to him, "you keep saying 'home'."

Pausing as she walked back to her closet, she turned and smiled, "I do. Is that a problem?"

"Of course not," he shook his head, rolling to his side to watch her, "I'm just curious if you've been doing any thinking about our situation. By saying 'home', it can mean several things and I don't want to assume anything."

"Oh," she nodded in understanding and grabbed a few shirts, then walked back to the bed, "I have done some thinking and I know I'm here for a while with my new show, but after it," she folded her shirts and laid them into her empty bag, "I think I'd like to come home, to you, to Lima," she admitted, looking at him, "when I was going to NYU, even though I did have friends and we went out, but I spent a lot of my free time studying, being involved in various clubs around campus or working on a musical with the Dramatic Arts department. Then when I graduated with honors, almost right away, I started work on my last show, so I haven't had much time to just sit back and relax or 'enjoy' my youth, so to speak."

"I definitely get where you're coming from," Noah nodded, "and if that's what you want to do, then I'm all for it, but what if you get an offer on another show?"

"I guess we'll see what happens, but I'll probably still take some time off, so I can come home for a while. We can visit NYC and maybe someday we could move here together. I just keep thinking that you've got a great job that you love, and it's permanent. My job is one as long as the show's running, but when it ends, I'm out of work. I definitely wouldn't want you to move here and take a chance on not being able to find a job and then be out of a job myself when my show ends," she said, returning to her closet to get more clothes, "at least that's what I'm thinking."

Noah nodded, "that does make sense," he reached out and once she was close to him, he took her hand in his, squeezing it gently, "I want you to make the choice that's going to make you happy. I'll fall into place with you, somehow, but I do get what you're saying and if you want to come home, then I'll support you."

Rachel crawled onto the bed and over to him, pressing a kiss to his lips, "I hope your apartment has room for two," she murmured, settling next to him, her hand resting on his chest gently.

"It definitely does," he smiled, wrapping one of his arms around her body.

"Good to know," she replied, letting her eyes drift closed for a moment as she snuggled closer to him, "I love being close to you."

"Me too," he agreed, pressing a kiss to her forehead and gently rubbing her back, "but I don't think you'll have a lot of time to pack tomorrow, so you might want to finish before you get too comfortable."

"I know," she nodded, "and I'll get back to it, but I just wanted to lay here for a moment," she took a deep breath, "I also was thinking about leaving some clothes at your place," she added, looking up at him, "so if I wanted to come home for a long weekend, I wouldn't have to pack a ton of clothes and everything."

"Babe, it's gonna be your place, too. Of course you can leave stuff there and definitely get the items you use in the bathroom there, so you don't have to bring those back and forth. Then all you'll need to do is bring your hot little self home," he winked, kissing her gently.

Rachel grinned brightly, "I love you, Noah Puckerman."

Noah returned her grin and tightened his arm around her briefly, "and I love you, Rachel Berry, soon-to-be Puckerman."

...

Though the couple wanted to just lay there, they knew they'd have plenty of time to do that once they got back to Ohio, so Rachel reluctantly got up and returned to what she'd been doing. Moving from the closet or her dresser to the bed, Rachel stuffed various clothing items into the bag, along with some shoes and soon she was zipping it closed and setting it by her door. Afterward she set her alarm for four-thirty in the morning and crawled into bed, snuggling up to Noah and the two settled in to sleep.

...

Noah had a good feeling he wouldn't sleep and by two-thirty, he was wide awake, hearing sirens, horns honking, cars driving by and completely understood what the saying 'the city that never sleeps' meant. Knowing he'd get used to it if he was there for a long period of time, he couldn't help be relieved when she'd admitted the night before that she wanted to come back to Lima for a while. It did sound like she needed to be herself and not spend her entire young adult life focused on work and nothing else, and as long as it was her choice and she was happy with it, he'd support her.

Drifting back to sleep from his thoughts, Noah woke again an hour later to another siren nearby and sighed, realizing he was not going to be able to sleep any longer. He was used to running a whole day on a small amount sleep, so he gently pried himself from around Rachel, and carefully slid out of bed, groaning when he felt the cold hardwood floor under his feet. Pushing aside the feeling, Noah quietly got up and tiptoed out of her room and moved into the bathroom to take a shower.

Digging a towel out of the small cabinet, he removed his clothes and turned on the water in the small tub and shower combination and waited until it warmed up before stepping inside. Even though he had plenty of time before the girls got up, he didn't want to use all the hot water, so he took a quick shower and stepped out, drying himself with the towel and wrapping it around his waist when he was done. Putting his shirt back on, he grabbed his other things and went back into Rachel's room, to find she was still sound asleep, so he grabbed his bag and began getting dressed.

Remembering something Rachel said, he decided to wear the jeans he'd worn the day before, since all his stuff was still in his pockets. Picking out the extra shirts and jeans he wouldn't be wearing, he took them over and set them next to her dresser on one of the boxes, figuring he could do the same thing she was; leave some clothes for later.

"Noah?" Rachel woke a little as the bed dipped when he sat down.

"Yeah, babe?" He turned around to look at her, "morning."

"Morning. What are you doing up?" She asked softly, glancing at the clock. "It's just after four."

"I know, but I couldn't sleep, so I got up and showered early so you and Arin have one less person to deal with," he admitted.

"How come you couldn't sleep?" She wondered, then realized the answer, "the city noise?"

"Yeah, there's too much going on. I'm not used to it. I also figured since we were getting up early anyway, there was no point in trying to sleep in, so at least this way I was productive," he said, laying back once he got his socks on.

Rachel shifted closer and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "it took me a while to get used to the noise, too," she agreed, "it just takes time." Leaning against him for a moment, she knew they couldn't stay there all day, so she reluctantly sat up, "I'm going to get up and shower. Then Arin and I don't have to rush through getting ready."

Noah nodded, "sounds like a good idea," he turned to see it was four-fifteen, "I'll check on Arin when you shower and after you finish, she should be awake enough to go do that, too. Then we don't have to leave your place as late as we'd planned and rush."

...

As Rachel moved into her bathroom to shower, Noah padded out to the couches, seeing his sister snuggled under the blankets with her phone sitting on the floor. Reaching down to pick it up, he rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Arin, hey sis, almost time to get up."

"I'm awake," Arin replied, opening her eyes to look at him, "have been since you showered."

"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked, handing her cell phone over.

She shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I figured you'd come over and wake me up if it got too late."

Noah nodded in understanding and sat down on the other couch, "how did you sleep?"

"Okay, I guess. Couch is pretty comfortable, actually, but I kept hearing things," she admitted.

"Me too," he agreed, "we're just not used to the big city noises at night."

"Exactly," Arin nodded shifting to sit up a little, "and I definitely understand what they mean when they say that New York is the 'city that never sleeps'."

Noah laughed lightly, "I was thinking the same thing."

...

The siblings continued to talk lightly while Rachel showered and once she was finished, Arin got up and went to take her turn in the bathroom. After Rachel dressed, the couple made sure their things were packed and by the time Arin was finished in the shower, it was just after five, so they still had plenty of time before they had to meet everyone. Continuing to pack, they ended up piling their bags by the large box of shoes near the door, so everything was together and by five-thirty they were bundling up and leaving Rachel's apartment.

There was a Starbucks a few blocks away, so the three walked toward it and since they had time, once they ordered their drinks and breakfast items, they stayed there to eat them. The Starbucks was just feet from the nearest blue line subway station, which also had a stop right where they were meeting everyone, so to save on walking, after breakfast, they headed into the subway.

Picking up the subway that was heading in their direction, it took only five minutes to reach their stop, so they climbed off and headed up to the street, now at the far southwest corner of Central Park. Crossing the street, they walked over to the 'USS Maine Monument', the spot they were meeting, and found Kurt, Tammy and Ian already there. As they reached them, Brooke and Courtney walked up from the other direction, so the large group shared morning greetings and then happily started their adventure together, continuing to talk, catch up and get to know each other, something they'd be doing a lot that day.

It was still dark, but the streets were already busy with traffic and pedestrians, but as they began walking east into the park, it seemed quieter. Noah was definitely uncomfortable being in a secluded park before daylight, but he pushed it aside as best he could and tried to enjoy the things Kurt, Rachel and her friends were pointing out.

A little after seven, the sun began to rise and they'd already reached the pond on the far southeast corner of the park, so they stayed there a short time, taking in the view and getting some pictures of the sunrise, the engaged couple and a few group shots, taken by a jogger passing by. Once they had their fill of the park, the group made their way to the yellow line subway station nearby and waited for the right one, that would take them down to the stop near Battery Park.

The twenty-five minute subway trip brought them down towards the tip of Manhattan. Climbing off and heading up to the street, they found it now completely daylight and the sky clear, but slightly overcast. Just by the subway entrance was a Starbucks, so the large group filed inside to get some warm drinks, to keep them going during their trip through the next park, getting them to the ferry that would take them to the Statue of Liberty.

With coffees in hand, the eight left the Starbucks and headed towards Battery Park, which took up most of the tip of southern Manhattan. The city residents pointed things out to Noah and Arin and every once and a while someone would stop to take pictures, Rachel making sure to get group pictures, along with ones of her and Noah and her, Noah and Arin to show their friends and family back home.

Reaching the edge of the park, right on the bay, everyone took a moment to take in the view of the scenery and get some pictures of the Statue of Liberty off in the distance. Tammy and Ian walked over to buy tickets for the large group to go over to Liberty Island, and soon the group was standing in the large line for the ferry. By nine-thirty, the large group of friends were landing at Liberty Island, thankful that the day was so far staying nice, even if it was still cool.

With Tammy's knowledge from working at a travel agency, they figured they'd have an hour to spend on the island before they'd need to catch a ferry back, and they didn't plan to waste any time. They immediately began checking everything out, taking pictures, visiting the gift shop and soaking in as much as they could of the view before they had to leave.

Since the trip to New York had come up so quickly, Arin didn't have a chance to let all her friends know she was going away for the weekend, but they all quickly found out when she posted a picture on her Facebook page of her, Noah, Rachel and Kurt with Lady Liberty in full view behind them. Within minutes, her phone began to beep with shocked messages from friends, but she waited to reply until later, because they didn't have too much longer at the island and would have time to reply once they were back on the subway.

Getting plenty of time to see what they wanted, the group made their way back to the ferry dock and waited to catch the one back to Battery Park. Just before eleven they were on the boat back to Manhattan and once they arrived, since they'd already made stops through the park, they were able to just keep going until they got back to the subway station they'd arrived there on. Waiting to catch the right line, they piled on the one that would take them to the stop right by the Empire State Building and settled in.

Their trip took about twenty minutes, and since there were a few places at the base of the building to eat, they agreed to stop for an early lunch before going up to it's observation deck. It only took a few minutes to walk from the station to the Empire State Building and after getting a few pictures of it, they settled on a burrito place outside the building. Going inside and placing their orders, they picked them up and sat down at a large table to relax.

They'd had a fun and successful morning, but they also had been a bit rushed to get to each place; they didn't want to run out of time. Now that they were on their last destination on the city tour, they felt less need to keep up a faster pace, because they still had several hours before Rachel, Noah and Arin needed to be at the airport.

During their trip that morning, a lot of conversations had been exchanged between everyone. Rachel's friends happily welcomed Arin, Noah and Kurt into their 'social group' and the New Yorkers even exchanged numbers with Kurt to keep in touch with him in the city while they were all living there. Kurt was welcoming of the new friendships he was forming and Rachel's friends, Kurt and Arin, were all very happy to see Noah and Rachel interact. The couple held hands most of the day, unless one of them was taking a picture, they'd kiss and hug at random times and shared smiles and looks with each other, even when they were carrying on conversations with someone else completely. They also saw the couple joking around with each other, teasing each other, and not only having a loving relationship, but also having a friendship that had been absent with Rachel's previous relationship and they could tell that Rachel and Noah were perfect for each other.

...

By twelve-thirty, the group had finished their lunch and was making their way into the Empire State Building. Climbing onto the elevator to take them up to 86th floor observation deck, they waited patiently for it to reach it's destination and as the doors opened, they stepped out and were all stunned at the view. Because the day was dry and overcast, there wasn't any bright sun to blind them and they seemed to be able to see miles in every direction, giving them a perfect view of the city, even if it was still a cool day.

During their trip that day, Ian had been making sure he got some shots of Noah and Rachel together, in a collection of 'engagement photos' to show off her ring and with the New York skyline or other scenery as their background. It would be something to add to all the wedding photos he'd be taking in a few weeks.

The group spent a little over an hour taking in the view and getting as many pictures as possible. Deciding to get going, they made their way down to the ground and back to the subway station, taking the line that went right to the stop near Times Square they'd used the day before. The trip only took five minutes, and soon they were walking up the stairs to the street level, just before two.

With their city tour over and knowing Rachel, Noah and Arin now had to focus on getting their things and heading to the airport, Rachel's four friends said their goodbyes there, since they all lived within walking distance of the station. Sharing hugs and promises to talk as often as possible before the wedding, the four eventually began to head off in various directions and Rachel, Noah, Arin and Kurt headed towards her apartment. Kurt decided to continue to hang out with them, and it gave him a chance to find out exactly what apartment Rachel lived in, so once she returned to the city, he could visit.

The trip back to Rachel's went quickly, since they knew where they were going and everyone relaxed once they walked into her warm apartment. Rachel, Noah and Arin had souvenirs they'd picked that day they needed to pack in their bags, so they did that quickly, then kicked back on Rachel's couches to talk with Kurt.

In their conversation, they decided to leave soon, to catch the next subway to the station near Kurt's that they'd used the day before. They'd walk him home and then they'd be closer to the airport to catch a cab, than in relation to where Rachel lived. By three, the four gathered up all of the things they needed and with one final check around the apartment, they walked out and Rachel locked her locks and soon were on a trek back to the subway station they'd just left.

It took a short time to catch the right line, but in five minutes, they were carrying their belongings up the stairs at the station just a few blocks away from Kurt's apartment. Since nothing was too heavy to carry, the three walked Kurt all the way back to his place and went inside for a short time, before hugging him, saying 'goodbye' and promising to keep in touch. Kurt also promised he'd help with wedding plans as much as he could from New York, until he got home to Lima, just before Christmas.

The travelers caught a cab just outside of Kurt's place and it wasn't long before they were on their way to the airport, arriving just before four-thirty. Their flight left at six, and they were glad they didn't have a problem checking the shoes as luggage or getting through security, which was done by five, so they could stop to get some food for dinner, before making their way down to their gate to eat and wait to board their flight.

...

As Rachel, Noah and Arin finally took their seats on their plane just after five-thirty, they were all looking forward to two hours of uninterrupted sitting. They'd been on the go for almost twelve hours, and even though they'd sat on the subways, it was only for short spans of time; they were tired. They also didn't want to leave yet, because they had really enjoyed their trip and Arin was already trying to figure out when she could come back to the city, "how about Spring Break?" Arin asked, turning to look at Rachel in the seat next to her.

"Anytime, Arin, but I'd like to think that you, mom, my dads and Noah would come out for my production's opening night, which should be at the end of February or in early-March," Rachel explained with a smile.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, babe, so I'll definitely be there," Noah promised, slipping his arm around her shoulders.

"I'd love to come!" Arin nodded, "I forgot you'd have one. I've never seen a real musical before, but I have seen the 'Mamma Mia!' movie, which I know is based off the musical."

"It is," Rachel replied, "as soon as I know the exact date, I'll make sure to get tickets for you all and you can make arrangements to come out."

"Awesome!" Arin smiled and settled into her seat.

Noah pressed a kiss to Rachel's forehead, "maybe we can make it a short family vacation, too," he suggested.

"What do you mean?" Rachel wondered.

"We could spend a few extra days here to see things a little more. I know you'll have your show to do, but I'm sure you could arrange a few days to have free so we can spend time as a family," he explained.

Rachel took a deep breath and smiled brightly, snuggling against him, "I love the sound of that. We definitely have time to plan that and I'm sure I'll be able to have some free time. I'm just thinking about planning our wedding right now," she admitted honestly.

Noah nodded in agreement, "yeah, that's on my mind, too. I'm actually really looking forward to it. I always was, but I know a wedding sometimes has more excitement for the bride and I just want us to be husband and wife. I don't _need_ the wedding, but I want you to have it and you deserve it. It'll be a great moment for us to promise, in front of everyone we care about, that we love each other and want to spend the rest of our lives together," he paused, looking at her, "does that make sense?"

Shifting to wrap her arms around him, she pressed a loving kiss to his lips and felt tears in her eyes, "I love you, Noah. I am gonna spend the rest of my life with you and you deserve a wedding, too, but I completely get what you're saying."

He returned her smile and hug and kissed her once more, "good to know," he took a deep breath, "and I love you, too."

...

A/N7: I don't know much about New York, because I've never been there, so I did a lot of guessing on the 'tour' they did (and using Google maps!). I hope it's okay and that you all enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you think! The next one will have summary and a jump to the wedding (maybe the day before). I just don't want to go through every detail of planning it; I wanna get to the actual ceremony. Hope you guys are alright with that.

A/N8: In case you forgot, I got the idea for the shoes from my best friend's little sister's wedding. She and her now husband and their bridal party all wore them, and since they were worn a lot in the show, I thought it was important for Rachel and Noah; that's why I put so much detail into them.

A/N9: There's been some things come up recently that's had a lot of Puckleberry fans and authors give up on them. I never will. I will ALWAYS write and ship Puckleberry, no matter what. Right now, us Puckleberry fans need to stick together and stay strong. I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I hope you guys stick around, too!

A/N10: Thank you all, for sticking with me. I'm sorry my updates have been few and far between, but I'm still here; I just had to slow my pace, from all my health issues. After my last update, I saw a surgeon and when he told me my gallbladder was only working at 6%, he said it was time for it to come out. I had it removed on June 12th. The outpatient surgery went well and I was home a few hours after I had the surgery and I'm now mostly back to myself, but I still have yucky days here and there. My surgeon said I could feel like that for a few months, but I'm getting better each day. Thanks for all the support and well wishes you all sent me! It really means a lot! Updates for all my fics are coming as often as I can. Hopefully I can catch up soon. I'm also trying to move my fics forward so I can finish a few of them, to free up time for my other fics and to get going on some new ones. Just wanted to let you know I'm working as hard as I can, but sadly, sometimes things get in the way of what I want to do and I can't write as often as I want.

...


	18. Chapter 18

Title: Broken Road, Part 18/?

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

...

**Reminder:** The rating of this story as a whole is 'T/PG-13'. Only chapters 10-12 are considered a rating of 'M/R' due to content.

...

**Saturday, December 31, 2016  
One Day Before The Wedding  
**Noah rolled over at the beeping alarm next to him and sighed, "already?" He groaned, seeing the bright red numbers read '8:00am', "_feels like I just went to bed. Well, I pretty much did; didn't get back here until after one when Rachel went to sleep,_" he thought, reaching over to hit the snooze button.

Giving himself a few moments to wake up, Noah rubbed his hands over his face and then sat up, looking around his messy room. It was the first night in over a month he'd stayed there and it was also the first night he'd slept without Rachel, so it felt weird; he missed her, but he was also looking forward to getting married the next day, when they could return to _their_ place as husband and wife.

Over the past few weeks, Noah had continued to stay at the Berry's with Rachel and like they decided, once they were married, they'd return to his apartment for their wedding night. They planned to turn his place into their apartment and that was the reason he chose to stay at his place for a few nights; he had a few things he wanted to do before he and Rachel returned on their wedding day.

Pushing himself out of bed, Noah padded out of the room and into the bathroom, taking care of what he needed to before going into the kitchen to see what food he could find. He hadn't gone shopping for over a month and most of the opened food was now bad, so he knew a shopping trip was necessary.

Finding some frozen breakfast sandwiches, he popped them into the microwave and moved over to the pile of mail on his table while he waited. He'd been taking care of his bills, but ignoring all the junk mail, so he went through that briefly before tossing most of them into the recycling container. When his sandwiches were done, he sat down and had a quick breakfast.

Taking a short shower afterward, Noah got ready to go out and headed for the grocery store. He knew it'd be busy that day, because it was New Year's Eve and people were preparing for parties, so he tried to keep patient as he wandered around the store, picking up items he knew he and Rachel would want for the next week, along with snacks and some special items, like champagne to celebrate with. By ten, Noah was back at the apartment, putting things away and getting into what he'd planned to do.

Noah had lived as a bachelor for years and his apartment showed it. Though he did have pictures of friends, family and coworkers around, he also had posters hanging up of movies, cars, motorcycles and partially clothed women. He wanted to take a lot of those down and give the space a little more homey feel; making it more inviting for Rachel to live in. She never asked him to take down those items and he figured they'd decorate over time together, but he wanted to start out himself, taking down some of the typical 'single guy' things to show Rachel he was serious about giving up his life as a bachelor. He wanted her to know he was as committed to their relationship as she was.

Tack after tack, Noah took down a large portion of the posters, leaving just a few car and motorcycle ones, hanging up by the TV and his game systems. When he was finished, he rolled them up and since he couldn't think of anyone who would be interested in them, he added them to the recycling bin in the kitchen and got to work on cleaning.

In the middle of picking up and organizing the living room, his phone began to sing and he recognized Rachel's ringtone, so he pulled it from his pocket to answer it, "hey babe!"

"Hey, sweetheart! What are you doing?" Rachel wondered curiously.

"Cleaning. I haven't done any since I started staying at your place," he admitted, keeping his answer simple.

"That's why you stayed there last night? To clean? I could help you know," she commented.

"I know you could, but it's my mess. I should be the one to clean it up and besides, I have a surprise I plan to set up for tomorrow night," he explained, "and that's all I'm gonna say, so you'll have to wait until you're Mrs. Puckerman to find out more."

Rachel pouted a little, "what about a hint?" She asked hopeful.

Noah laughed, "no, babe, no hints. You'll just have to wait and see," he replied with a grin.

"Alright, I suppose I can wait another day," she agreed, knowing he wasn't going to give in.

"Yes, you can," he assured her, "so what's up?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Getting ready for this afternoon. Anna and I are meeting mom, Arin, Kurt, Ian, Dave, Will, Emma and the girls at school at noon," she told him.

"I thought rehearsal wasn't until one," he glanced at his watch to see it was eleven.

"It is," she confirmed, "well, that's when Rabbi Goodman will arrive, but we're going over early to make sure things are getting set up correctly."

"Oh, alright," Noah nodded, relieved he didn't miss an important detail, "do you need me to be there earlier?"

"Not necessarily, but I'd love to see you; since you didn't want me to come over, I miss you and waking up this morning without you sucked," she said honestly.

"I miss you, too, but I'll see you in a few hours. This morning did suck," he agreed, "and unfortunately, soon we'll have to get used to being apart," he admitted sadly, "I don't want to think about it, but it's hard not to."

"I know. I feel the same way. At least now when we're apart, we're still together. Not like before when we had no contact. We'll talk all the time and visit when we can," she said, trying to stay positive.

"Exactly. I'll fly out some Friday nights and come back Sunday for work on Monday, or take leave for a couple of days to visit when I can," he promised, "and I know when you have time to visit, you will. It's not gonna be easy, but we'll make it work," he promised her, taking a deep breath and thinking of something else to talk about that wasn't as depressing, "um, I can be up at school in a while, but I don't know how much earlier. My place looks like a tornado went through it and I have a lot of laundry to do. I don't want to leave the washer and dryer running while I'm gone, because I figure I won't be back until late tonight, with practice, dinner, the party and it being New Year's Eve."

"I get it," Rachel assured him, "and that makes sense, but you do know we have all week to do that. It doesn't have to get taken care of today."

"True, but I want it done so we can spend time together and not take the first week after we get married to clean up the apartment," he replied, moving around the living room to pick up magazines and sort things out.

"Noah, the last time I was there, which I know was a few weeks ago, it wasn't that messy. You've hardly been there, so I don't think it's as bad as you're making it sound," she commented, "unless you had a big party in the last ten hours that I don't know about," she teased.

"No, I didn't have any parties," he laughed, "I came back here after you fell asleep and went to bed myself. How did you sleep, aside from missing me?" He wondered.

"I did okay for it being the first night we slept apart. It helped that you were here until I went to sleep, though," she admitted, "tonight will be the real test, because you know they're gonna tear us apart just after midnight," she explained with a sigh.

"I had a feeling they would. I mean, it is tradition that the bride and groom don't see each other on their wedding day until the ceremony," he smirked, "we'll be lucky if they let us kiss at midnight."

"I made Anna promise we'll get that chance and she assured me we would," she told him, "because I don't want to miss our first kiss at midnight, ever, because of a technicality."

"Neither do I," he agreed, "and I'm glad we won't. Tonight's important and so is tomorrow."

"They are," she nodded, "um, I know we haven't talked about this, since we'd always planned tonight as a group party, but I know it's usually tradition for the couple to be apart the night before their wedding. If it hadn't been New Year's Eve, I would have been alright if you guys wanted to go to, um, a strip club or something like that. I trust you, even though I wouldn't trust the girls at the club."

Noah smiled at her response and took a seat on the couch, "I appreciate that and understand, but I wouldn't have gone. Yes, I've dated, slept with girls, met them in bars, but I draw lines and I'm not cool with strip clubs. Besides, who would take me?" He asked with a laugh, "Matt and Finn are married, Mike's engaged, Dave and Kurt are gay and most of the guys on my team are married or dating someone, so it's not like their significant others would be happy with them going," he explained honestly.

Rachel giggled lightly, "there is that, but I just wanted to tell you that."

"And that means a lot to me, that you trust me to go, so thank you for that," he replied, "and the same goes for you, too. If the girls had wanted to take you someplace like that, you know, a male strip club," he said, biting his lip, "I would have let you go, but I admit, I wouldn't have been too happy about it. I don't like the idea of other guys stripping in front of you."

"Thank you, Noah," she replied, "but trust me, there's no need to worry. I am, like you, not into that type of place, and no one can compare to you. You're amazingly handsome! I knew you were in school, but now that you've grown up and continue to work out to stay in shape because of your job... I may be a virgin, but I'm not blind; I _love_ what I see," she grinned.

Noah couldn't help the blush that grew on his cheeks at her compliment, "wow, I... I did not expect you to say that, but thanks babe," he replied, "and the feeling is mutual. I don't see a point in going out to look at some fake girl when I can stay home with the most beautiful girl in the world."

Rachel felt tears in her eyes as he spoke to her and her heart fluttered with happiness, "thank you. You don't realize how good that makes me feel to hear that. You're the... I really think you're the first person, besides my dads, who has ever complimented me like that and truly meant it. I love you."

"I love you, too, Rach," he smiled, "and I hope you know I'll always feel that way."

"I do," she replied without hesitation.

"Save that for tomorrow," he answered with a grin.

Rachel couldn't help another giggle escape her lips at his quick catch on the words she'd said, "alright. I can do that, or at least wait a few hours until practice."

"Oh yeah, there is that," he agreed, "speaking of, don't you need to get going soon?" He wondered, seeing they'd been talking for a little while.

"Yeah, I guess I should go see what Anna is up to. She was still getting ready when I called you," she admitted, talking about her cousin who had been staying at the Berry's for the last few days.

"I see. I should probably let you go. I'd like to at least get a load of laundry in the wash before I get ready to leave," he said, standing up and moving towards his room to start gathering up clothes to wash.

Rachel sighed dramatically, "I suppose I could let you go, but I love talking to you."

"I love talking to you, too, babe, but we'll see each other in less than two hours, I promise," he replied.

"I know. Sorry. I guess I'm getting a little needy," she said softly.

"Babe, it's alright. Nothing to be sorry about. I get it," he assured her, "and I'm also glad we have unlimited minutes and texts on our phones, so we can talk for however long we want without worrying about going over our monthly minutes, because we're gonna need them."

"We are," she replied, "I'm glad we thought to combine our phones before getting married, so we didn't have to do it afterward."

"Me too," he nodded and before he could respond further, he heard a knocking and realized it was coming from Rachel's end of the conversation. "Who's that?" He wondered.

"Anna. Letting me know she's ready to go and I guess we should get going," she explained.

"Alright, I'll see you in," he glanced at his watch, "about an hour," he promised.

"Okay, great! See you soon. Love you, Noah."

"Love you, too, babe," Noah replied, before pulling his phone away from his ear, ending the call and pocketing his phone.

...

True to his word, Noah gathered up a large pile of clothes and started a load in the washer, and then returned to what he had been doing before Rachel called; cleaning. Moving in and out of the various spaces in his apartment, throwing away garbage, cleaning up and putting things back where they belonged, Noah was finally making his place look more presentable. Having spent the last several weeks at the Berry's, in Rachel's room, and briefly seeing her place in New York, he knew that she kept things organized and he was trying his best to start being more that way; he didn't want to continue to always leave messes around, because he didn't want her to feel like she had to constantly pick up after him.

Just as Noah's watch beeped at noon, the washer went off, so he put the items into the dryer and then returned to his room. Pulling out one of the various shopping bags he had sitting inside his closet, he got out the plastic wrapped package of new bed sheets and pillow cases, in a color and pattern he thought Rachel would like, and removed them from the plastic, making them the next load in the washer. He knew he wouldn't have time to dry them, but they'd be washed, so he could dry them in the morning, when he planned to change the sheets so they were new for their wedding night; the surprise he'd been planning for his soon-to-be wife.

Making his way to his closet again, he dug through to find something to change into. No one was dressing up that day, so he opted for a pair of dark blue jeans and a light blue and gray striped sweater. He knew he'd be in it all day, so he wanted to be comfortable and also look presentable for pictures he knew people would be taking.

Time ticked by and soon the dryer was stopping. When it finished, he took all the clothes into his room and hung up the shirts, folded up jeans and under clothes and left his socks in a pile on his dresser, that he'd take care of later. As he finished, he heard the washer stop, so now he knew he could leave.

Driving the short distance to McKinley, he pulled into the parking lot and found a spot next to Finn's car. As he slid out, he saw Mike's car pull in, "hey guys, carpooling?" He asked, surprised to see Matt and Mike getting out of the same car.

"Sort of," Matt replied, greeting his partner with a handshake and hug, "Mercedes picked up Tina earlier, so Mike picked me up. That way we didn't have four cars here."

Noah nodded in understanding, "that makes sense," he replied, shaking Mike's hand before the three began moving towards the school.

"You ready for this, man?" Mike asked, patting him on the shoulder as they walked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Noah wondered.

"Tomorrow's the big day. I was a nervous wreck," Matt admitted, "yeah, I knew Mercedes loved me and all that, but all the planning finally coming together and hoping everything went well and making sure I didn't say the wrong thing; I was stressed."

Thinking about everything, Noah took a deep breath, "I guess I'm a little nervous," he blushed, rubbing his neck, "we've been doing a lot, so I haven't really had a chance think about it and I'm trying to ignore it, but there are butterflies."

"I think it's normal to be nervous, because it's a huge step. I'm nervous for when Tina and I get married, too, and that's not for a while still," Mike admitted as they stepped inside the front doors of the school.

Immediately, the guys were greeted with some small signs, directing guests to their wedding locations; the auditorium for the ceremony and the cafeteria for the reception. "Any idea where they are?" Matt asked, glancing at the other two.

"Lemme ask," Noah pulled his phone out and sent a message to Rachel, letting her know he was there and asking where they were. In a few moments, she responded they were in the cafeteria, so Mike, Matt and Noah headed in that direction.

Walking into the cafeteria, they found Dave, Finn, Kurt, Ian, Burt and some of the Glee guys helping set up the round lunch tables and chairs around the open area they were leaving for the dance floor. Off against the wall opposite where the guys had entered, Will, a couple of the Glee girls and the club's band were setting up instruments and getting the sound system working.

It seemed only fitting that the club sing at their wedding; it was where their friendship began years ago and when Noah and Rachel had gone down to Columbus to root for New Directions at Sectionals a few weeks prior, they'd quickly decided that part of their musical entertainment would be songs sung by the club.

At one of the tables near the door, Rachel, the girls from New York, including Ian's sister Ariel, Emma, Carole, Tina, Mercedes and Quinn were seated and talking. When Rachel saw the guys enter, she stood up, "Noah!" She grinned and skipped over to them, waving at Mike and Matt before wrapping her arms around her fiancé.

"Hey, baby," Noah smiled, bringing his arms up to rest around her waist as he pressed a kiss to her lips, "everything going okay here?"

"So far so good, actually. Most everything is set up in here and our parents are in the auditorium with Anna and Arin. They're checking on the Huppah to make sure it's set up correctly," she explained.

"It's a wedding canopy. I don't see how it could be set up wrong. There are four poles holding up fabric; there's really only one way to put it up," Noah laughed lightly.

"I suppose so, but it doesn't hurt to make sure," she replied with a smile.

"I guess not," he agreed, shrugging, "so, why are the guys doing all the work and you and the girls sitting down?" He teased, raising a curious eyebrow at the division of work.

"They won't let us. Will and Dave insist they'll take care of keeping the club on task and making sure the tables, chairs and sound systems get set up and are working properly. They also are going to help out tomorrow, that way the bridal party, Tina, Mercedes, Quinn, Ian, Ariel, and Kurt can be where they need to be, to help us get ready," she explained, "and as much as I wanted to help out, I am glad I don't have to deal with all this."

Noah kissed her forehead and rubbed her back gently, "that's because you've been working yourself almost every day for a month to get things planned. It's time for a break."

Rachel took a deep breath and nodded, letting her head rest against his chest, "yeah. I think you're right. But it won't last for long," she murmured.

"Maybe not, but it still will be relaxing," he promised, guiding them towards the table where everyone seemed to be gathered, "and we'll be together, so it'll be perfect."

Nodding at his words, she closed her eyes briefly, allowing herself to think of their future together. The happiness that filled her brought a smile to her face, "it will be perfect, as long as I'm with you," she replied, pressing a kiss to his lips.

Noah returned her kiss gently and reached up, resting his hand on her cheek, "you'll always have me."

...

Taking the next few minutes to talk with their friends, Rachel's dads, Noah's mom, Arin, and Anna joined them to talk and wait for the arrival of Rabbi Goodman. When he and his wife arrived, the couple's parents, the bridal party, Ian and his sister Ariel, since they needed to see what would happen to know where and how to take pictures and video, Kurt, Tina, Mercedes, Quinn, Burt, Carole and Rachel's friends from New York headed to the auditorium to practice.

Rabbi Goodman's wife brought along the Ketuba, the marriage contract, that had been written up for their wedding and showed it to the couple and their family members right away. The scroll like design with Hebrew writing, as well as the English translation, was just another agreement to the vows they'd make when they got married and it also contained their information and the date of their wedding. The Ketuba would be signed before the wedding and during the ceremony, the rabbi would read it, so they wanted to make sure names were all spelled correctly before the ceremony. Noah and Rachel really loved the design and everything was correct, so Deborah said she'd keep it for the night and bring it back the next day for the wedding.

The rabbi's wife was also there to help organize how the ceremony would go. She usually helped arrange the ceremonies at the temple and given that only a handful of people involved were familiar with a Jewish ceremony, Rachel and Noah thought it would be helpful for all of them, since even Rachel and Noah and their families hadn't been to too many Jewish ceremonies, to get some extra direction.

For the next few hours, the large group of friends and family worked on everything involved with the ceremony. Starting out with how it would start, where and when they'd sign the Ketuba, how they'd enter the auditorium, to how Rachel and Noah would stand under the Huppah. During the ceremony, Rachel and Noah would have to repeat some sayings in Hebrew, and Rabbi Goodman promised he'd go slow enough so they could repeat them, without messing up, and after the Hebrew, they would also say the translation in English, so their guests could understand what they were saying.

After three hours of practicing and running trough the whole ceremony twice, Rachel, Noah and Rabbi Goodman were confident everyone had things down, enough that they decided to end for the day. The rabbi and his wife answered some questions and soon the two were leaving, promising to see them the next day.

The large group returned to the cafeteria, where Will, Emma, Dave and a few of Arin's friends from Glee were seated at one of the tables. Everything was now set up; at least as much as possible, because they had to wait until the next day for the caterers and flowers to arrive before they could finish.

With everything done for the day and having reservations in a short time at Breadsticks for their rehearsal dinner, the large group of family and friends headed towards the parking lot and began splitting off in groups to carpool to the restaurant.

Rachel had come to school with her dads and cousin, but wanted to get a few minutes with Noah, so she turned to them as they reached David's SUV, "I'm going with Noah," she said simply, while she continued to hold his hand.

"We thought you would be," Alan replied with a smile.

"Oh," Rachel blushed and took a deep breath, "alright, well, we'll see you in a little bit," she replied, glancing at her fiancé to make sure he didn't try to change her mind.

"I'm cool with that," Noah assured her, nodding at his soon-to-be in-laws, "we'll be there soon."

David, Alan and Anna waved at the couple and slid into the SUV and Rachel and Noah continued on to Noah's SUV. Almost everyone had already left, and by the time he pulled the passenger door open and let her climb in, they were the only ones remaining. Once Rachel was settled in her seat, he closed the door and moved around to the other side and opened the driver's door. Sliding in, he closed it and immediately started the engine to get the heat on so they could warm up; having gotten a slight chill in the short walk from the school. Winter had finally set in and since it was almost dark out, the temperature had dropped a lot, probably just at or below freezing.

Holding his hands up to the vent to warm them, the glanced at the clock to see they still had about fifteen minutes before they needed to be at the restaurant, but he also knew they could be late if they wanted, "you warming up?" He wondered, seeing her rubbing her hands together in front of one of the vents.

"Oh, yes," she nodded, smiling at him, "you?"

"Yeah. I didn't think about needing a jacket or gloves or I would have thrown them in the back," he admitted, realizing his sweater didn't hold much heat in.

"That is something I learned while living in New York and having to walk or take public transportation in the cold months; sweaters don't keep me warm. Well, they did if they were in layers, but not as a single one," she explained, reaching over and tugging at his shirt.

"Hey now," he batted her hand away playfully, "no undressing me yet. You can unwrap that tomorrow night," he added with a wink.

Rachel's cheeks flushed at his suggestion and then she smiled, "I wasn't trying to do that, Noah, because I want to save that until then, but there is something that I do want to practice," she admitted.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" He wondered, having a pretty good idea what it was.

Shifting so she could lean towards him more, she reached up and rested a hand on his cheek and then guided their lips together, kissing him for the first time in hours; they hadn't kissed at all during practice. After a few moments, they broke apart to catch their breath and Rachel smiled, "this."

"I don't know," Noah shifted, "I don't think I quite figured out what you mean. Maybe you could show me again," he suggested with a grin, wrapping one of his arms around her back to pull her closer.

Rachel gladly pressed a kiss to his lips again and draped her arms around his neck. Noah immediately reacted and she pushed a little further, letting her tongue dart out to brush against his lips, lightly tasting the peppermint gum he'd been chewing earlier.

Noah was loving every moment of their kiss, but he also kept in mind where they were. Even though they were alone in the school parking lot, there still were trees around and it was dark out, so his protective instincts kicked in and he reached with his left hand for the door lock. Pressing it and hearing a click from each door, he relaxed slightly, but he didn't expect Rachel's reaction.

As the odd clicking hit her ears, Rachel jumped back from their kiss and looked around in a brief panic, "what was that?" She gasped.

"I locked the doors," he said softly, reaching out to rest his hand on her cheek, "you okay?"

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Rachel nodded, "uh, yes, I'm fine. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Rach. What happened?" He asked, having a feeling he knew the answer; she still was a little jumpy and hesitant with certain things.

"I... The sound scared me. I didn't expect it," she explained, "and why are you locking the doors anyway?"

Realizing she'd know he wasn't being completely truthful with his answer, Noah decided to tell her, "because we're alone in a car, in an empty parking lot and it's dark out," he replied honestly, "anyone could walk up and if the doors are locked, we have a better chance at getting away."

Biting her lip, Rachel nodded and took a deep breath to calm her racing heart, "that's smart," she started, "the dreams stopped weeks ago, but I guess I have still been jumpy and even a little more cautious when I'm out... It's easy to see that I'm not over what happened to me. Sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, babe," Noah said, brushing his thumb over her cheek, "it's been a month since that happened and for what you went through, you've recovered so well! It's okay to be jumpy and extra cautious," he admitted, "it's completely understandable, but just know I'm with you and I'm not gonna let anything happen to you," he promised, smiling at her.

"I know you're not," she returned his smile and leaned into his touch, "but what about when we're not together? When I'm in New York, alone... I keep telling myself I'll be okay, but then when something as simple as a door being locked scares me, I wonder how I'm going to be able to walk to and from the theater without freaking out or thinking that every guy walking past me on the sidewalk is out to get me?"

"Rachel, you're a strong and independent young woman. You've lived in the city for five and a half years and have yet to have a problem. What happened to you was specific to you; he was a pissed off ex. No one is out to get you and as long as you continue to do what you've done in the past when you go places, I'm confident you will be just fine. I'm only a phone call away, I promise. If you ever need to talk or freak out, you know you can call me."

Feeling a single tear slip from her eye, Rachel nodded and leaned over, wrapping her arms around him, "I know I can. I love you," she murmured into his neck.

Noah kissed her cheek and held her gently, "I love you, too, babe," he replied, rubbing her back to help calm her down, "and it's okay to be this way. Over time it won't be as bad and living in a big place like NYC, I would think it's normal to be like that."

"I guess you're right," she said softly. "I was like this a bit when I first moved there, but once I got used to it, I was okay."

"See? It might be scary at first, but once you get used to things again, you'll do alright," he assured her, "I have faith."

"Thank you," she smiled lightly and took another deep breath, "I wish I had your confidence. I'm still haven't gotten all of mine back yet."

"Yeah, I know and no one expects it to return over night. You just gotta give it time," he pressed another kiss to her cheek and smiled, "and you've always got me to lean on, so that's how I know you'll be okay."

Rachel nodded and took a moment to gather herself, "yes, I will be," she confirmed, knowing he was right; she just needed time to get there. Pulling back a little so she could look at him, she blushed, "this isn't how I expected right now to go," she added, biting her lip, "I didn't want to bring this up the night before our wedding."

"Don't worry about it. It's okay," he replied, reaching up to brush her hair from her face, "and as much as I'd love to sit here and just talk about anything, or continue what we were doing," he grinned, "our friends and family should all be at Breadsticks by now and if we don't get there soon they'll probably send a search party after us," he explained with a smirk.

Letting a giggle escape her lips, she nodded in agreement, "they just might. I suppose we should get going," she admitted, settling back into her seat and hooking her belt.

"Only after this," he leaned over and kissed her lovingly.

Rachel's reaction was to wrap her arms around his neck, continuing the welcomed gesture and soaking in one of the last few moments they'd have alone before their wedding. "Noah," she murmured, pulling back slightly, "I'd love to continue, but we need to go."

"I know," he nodded, kissing her quickly once more, before pulling back, to settle into his seat and hook his belt, "I'm surprised we haven't gotten calls or texts wondering where we are."

"I'm sure they understand we wanted some time alone," she replied, "but if it gets much later, they may start," she added, motioning to the clock now reading five-pm.

"True," Noah shifted into reverse and backed the SUV out of the spot, beginning their trip to the restaurant, "next stop, dinner!"

...

Arriving at Breadsticks about fifteen minutes later, they went right back to the banquet room they'd reserved to find everyone there, seated around the table, with two empty seats at one end for Noah and Rachel. Light jokes were passed around when they walked in about what took them so long to get there, but the kidding around died down after a few moments, when Rachel told them they wanted some time alone; everyone understood.

Now that they'd arrived, a server came to get Rachel and Noah's drink orders and then returned with them after a few moments and began taking everyone's orders. Another server came to help out and after a short time, they left, promising to return shortly with salads and appetizers.

Light conversations filled the table as friends and family members spoke to each other, passing the time while they waited. In brief discussion, they decided to save all the traditional toasts and speeches until they got to the Berry's later that evening, where they'd be continuing the night, with those seated around the table. It was New Year's Eve and Rachel and Noah had made plans weeks prior for that night, wanting to spend it relaxing together and hanging out with their close friends and family, not doing some of the things traditionally done at a bachelor or bachelorette party.

When their appetizers and salads arrived, the discussions died down while everyone passed plates and bowls around the table, but once everyone settled into eating, the conversations returned in between bites of food. As Rachel looked around at everyone, she was happy to see that her friends from New York were getting along well with her and Noah's friends from Lima. She'd wanted that to happen for some time, but since Tammy, Courtney, Brooke, Ian and his sister, Ariel, had only been in town for a few days, there wasn't much opportunity to hang out; they'd all been quite busy helping out with the final wedding details.

...

The large group spent over two hours at Breadsticks, enjoying the time they had together. Once the bill was paid, they all made their way over to the Berry's to continue to hang out, talk, joke around and celebrate the New Year and Rachel and Noah's upcoming big day.

When they first got back to the house there was one thing the Berrys and Puckermans wanted to do - light the menorah. It happened to also be the eighth and final night of Hanukkah that year, having started on Christmas Eve. Traditionally they lit it before dinner and let it burn through their meal, but since they had gone out to dinner, they'd agreed to wait until they returned to the house to light it.

While most of their group found seats in the living room, Rachel, Noah, David, Alan, Anna, Deborah, and Arin gathered around the dinning table where they set it up, as a center piece; plates and trays with various snacks for everyone scattered around it. David lit the center candle and then the seven of them took turns lighting one of the candles, all of them sharing the responsibility of reciting the various blessings said when the candles were lit.

The rest of their guests waited patiently, most of them watching in curiosity. Even knowing their Jewish friends for a while, many hadn't experienced their traditions and were happy to finally see more into their religion. They also knew, from the wedding practice, that they'd be learning a lot more during the ceremony the next day.

As the final candle was lit by Noah, the menorah was left in the center of the table and Rachel, Noah, Arin, Anna, David and Alan joined the others in the living room.

"That was pretty cool," Tammy said, looking at Rachel. "I've never seen that in person before. You're usually here for Hanukkah, so I've never gotten to see you guys do this," she motioned to where the candle flames flickered.

Rachel nodded in understanding, "it is very cool and this Hanukkah season has been wonderful because it's the first one we, the Puckermans and Berrys, have shared together. Even when Noah and I were in school together and were friends, we never lit the menorah together, but we did exchange gifts a few times," she explained, smiling at Noah.

"Speaking of gifts, aren't you supposed to give each other something now?" Ian wondered.

"We did that earlier this week. Some families exchange a few gifts each night of Hanukkah, but we," Noah paused and motioned between his and Rachel's family, "decided to only do that a few times and since it happened to fall over Christmas, we exchanged some on the first night and then the second night, Christmas day. We also knew we'd have a busy week with final preparations and in case we didn't have time, we did it earlier."

"That makes sense," Finn agreed, "you've done that in the past, too," he added, having known Noah the longest and was familiar with how the Puckermans celebrated Hanukkah.

Noah nodded at him, "yeah, we have. Mom wasn't always able to have the evenings off when we were younger, so we usually picked the weekend that Hanukkah fell on to celebrate, because she usually had them off."

"Thank you for sharing that," Tina smiled, "I knew the Jewish religion was different than a Christian one, but I didn't know how. I'm excited to see your ceremony tomorrow, too, because from what we saw today, we're definitely going to learn a lot more."

"You're welcome. It is quite different and we're happy to share with you all," Rachel said honestly, then smiled, "I'm excited for our ceremony tomorrow, too," she added, looking at Noah.

Noah draped his arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her cheek, "me too, babe. Can't wait to see you in your dress. I know you're going to be gorgeous."

Rachel couldn't help blushing at his compliment, "thank you."

"No thanks needed," he assured her, rubbing her back and smiling, "especially when it's the truth."

Turning a little, she wrapped her arm around him and pulled him into a kiss, "I love you."

Noah pressed his forehead to hers and smiled, "I love you, too, Rachel."

...

The room fell into silence, giving Noah and Rachel a moment together and then Alan helped get the attention off them by offering drinks to everyone. With the change of subject, everyone moved towards the dinning room and the kitchen, picking up some snacks and drinks before returning to their chosen spot in the living room.

David turned on the TV and found the channel broadcasting the New Year's Eve bash in Times Square, but he turned the volume down so they didn't have to talk over it.

"What's it like in New York on New Year's Eve?" Quinn asked those who lived there.

"It's busy," Rachel replied, "but from that, I don't know. I've always been here for New Year's Eve."

"Really?" Tina gasped in surprise.

"Yeah. When I was in school, classes would end just before Christmas and a new quarter would begin just after the new year, so I'd stay here, usually until New Year's Day, and then go back," Rachel explained.

"That's understandable," Kurt agreed. "I did the same thing a few times, depending on when classes started again."

"It's cool to see the ball drop in person, but it's very hard to see, depending on where you are," Courtney admitted. "There are so many people in the square and roads are blocked off for everything except walking and it's usually pretty cold. I've only gone a few times, but now it's more fun to have a party at home with friends or family and watch it on TV," she added, motioning to the screen, "you get a better view of it and are a lot warmer."

"It's definitely something to do once, but I just haven't had the desire to go. Maybe I'll change my mind one day," Rachel commented with a shrug.

"You almost slept through midnight last time you were here," David commented with a grin.

Rachel blushed, "daddy!"

"You fell asleep before midnight?" Noah asked with a grin.

"I didn't mean to!" Rachel defended, "I had been on the phone with someone and I was laying on my bed. When I hung up, I guess I'd been comfortable enough that I just nodded off."

Deciding the night before their wedding was not the best time to tease her, Noah stored that information for later, "we'll make sure that doesn't happen tonight."

"Thank you," she smiled, pulling her feet up on the couch to snuggle up to him.

Noah kissed her lips gently, content where they were at the moment. He was currently surrounded by the most important people in his life, on the eve of his wedding to the girl he was madly in love with. He was definitely in a happy place and filled with excitement for the next day.

"What are you thinking about?" Rachel asked Noah, realizing he'd gotten distracted.

"About how excited I am for tomorrow," he said honestly, smiling at her.

Rachel returned his smile, "I'm definitely excited, too. I can't wait to be Mrs. Noah Puckerman!"

Noah shifted to wrap his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her lips, "and I can't wait to be your husband. Did you get your vows written?" He wondered curiously.

"I did, a few days ago," she confirmed, "did you?"

"Maybe," he smirked.

Rachel gasped, taking from his 'maybe' comment that he hadn't, "be serious! Have you or have you not written them? You can't just wing it!"

Noah laughed lightly and rubbed her back, "relax babe, I already wrote them out."

"Thank goodness! I thought I'd have to send you upstairs to do that!" She admitted, sighing in relief.

"No, you don't have to send me to your room, unless you want to join me," he winked and watched her facial expressions change.

At first, Rachel was confused at what his words meant, but once the meaning kicked in, her blush from earlier returned, "Noah!"

"Hey, you left that comment wide open for me to add to it," Noah said honestly, "and I already held back once tonight; I can't keep doing that," he added with a grin.

"No one ever said you had to," she replied, looking at him.

"I'm trying not to tease you tonight. It doesn't seem very gentlemanly," he explained.

"Gentlemanly? Noah, you're always a gentleman around me. If you mean because we're getting married tomorrow, you're watching what you say, you don't have to do that. I'm marrying you for who you are and the Noah I know would tease me and you should know I don't mind you doing that, within reason," she told him seriously.

Noah smiled at her, "that means a lot, babe. I know I don't have to watch what I say, but I just didn't think the timing was right, that's all," he shrugged.

"Alright," Rachel nodded, leaning in to kiss him, "just making sure."

...

For the next couple hours, the guests in the Berry's house found things to talk about. At first, they continued to ask about New York, but slowly they began to ask questions about the wedding. Some were double checking to make sure things had been done, while others wanted to get clarification on what was going on or what their responsibilities were, so they didn't wait until the next day to find out.

Around eleven, Rachel realized they hadn't gone through their speeches, usually done at the rehearsal dinner. Standing up and tugging Noah with her, she guided him into the kitchen, "Noah, we didn't say anything yet."

"About what?" He wondered, grabbing a chip from one of the bowls on the counter.

"Thanking them; you know? The stuff we were supposed to say at dinner," she commented.

"Oh, yeah, we did forget that," he agreed, "we can say something now."

"True, but are we both going to say something or should one of us speak on behalf of us?" She asked him.

"It doesn't matter to me. You can talk first and say what you want and then I'll say what I want when you're done," he suggested.

"Okay. Sounds good," she leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips, pulling away after a brief moment.

"Hey, hold up," Noah stepped closer to her, rested his hand on her cheek and kissed her lovingly, smiling into the kiss as she reacted and returned the affection, "that's better. I think we should get some more practice in before tomorrow," he added with a wink.

Rachel reached up and wrapped her arms around him in silent agreement, kissing him again and this time, she didn't pull back once their lips connected like she first had. She felt him react by slipping his arms around her body and she could faintly taste the soda on his lips that he'd been drinking when their soft lips brushed together. No matter how much she wanted to continue, she knew they weren't in private and could be interrupted at any moment, so she reluctantly pulled back, pressing her forehead to his, "Noah, I don't want to stop, but," she bit her moist lip, glancing in the direction of the living room, "starting tomorrow we'll have plenty of time."

"Yeah, I know," he nodded, tightening his arms around her briefly, before starting to let go, "can't say I never tried," he added with a wink.

"If we had an opportunity to be alone, I'd be more than willing to continue," she assured him, "but I don't want to be rude."

"They won't think that. They're gonna understand. Besides, they should give us a free pass anyway; it's the night before our wedding. After midnight, the next time I'll see you is at the ceremony," he explained, kissing her forehead.

"We're really doing this?" She asked, almost surprised it was happening, "we're really getting married?"

"We are," he smiled happily, "I'm really glad."

"Me too," she nodded, hugging him tightly, "we should probably go talk to everyone before midnight hits," she admitted, knowing if they continued to talk in the kitchen, midnight would be there and she didn't want them to run out of time.

"Yeah, alright," he agreed, taking her hand and guiding her back into the living room.

"Hey everyone, can we have your attention?" Rachel wondered, and conversations began to die down as they all looked at the couple standing by one of the couches.

"What's up?" Finn asked.

"Are you guys getting cold feet? Because it's normal to get nervous right before the wedding," Matt commented.

"No, we're not getting cold feet," Noah shook his head, nodding at Rachel.

Rachel took a deep breath and smiled at their friends and family, "we wanted to thank you for everything, not only for the help planning the wedding; for your friendship, your support, your help when we had a really low moment earlier this month... For all of it and that it means so much to us," she bit her lip and felt tears in her eyes at what she wanted to say next, "I feel horrible that many of us lost touch in the last few years, but it's all in the past now. I'm so happy to say that I have best friends living in many places and I promise I'll never let us lose touch again. You all mean the world to me, to us, we love you," she motioned between her and Noah.

"You're not just best friends, you're part of our extended family," Noah added in, smiling at everyone as he rubbed Rachel's back.

Nods and smiles were shared around the room and some of the girls were wiping their eyes, keeping their comments to themselves for the moment, so they could continue.

"Exactly," Rachel nodded at Noah's words, then turned to her dads, "dad, daddy, you know that I'll always be your little girl, so don't think you're losing me. You're not. You're gaining a son, who definitely is the one for me, I'm 110-percent sure of it and I'll always love both of you," she promised, smiling at them and reaching up to wipe the tears from her eyes.

The two men returned her smile, "we know and we love you, too," David assured her and Alan nodded in agreement.

Turning her gaze on Deborah and Arin, Rachel continued, "Deborah, Arin, it's an honor to become part of the Puckerman family. Arin, you're my sister, no 'in-law' added, because I don't see you that way. I only wish we hadn't lost so much time because we were out of touch. Deborah, mom, again, I don't see you as an 'in-law'. I've never once regretted the way I was raised. I'm proud of who I am and who my dads are, but I've always wondered what it'd be like to have a mom and now I don't have to wonder anymore. I have you. I also want to thank you for bringing Noah into this world and raising him as you did. He's a wonderful man and I'm proud to become his wife and part of your family."

Deborah smiled at them, "we're happy to welcome you into our family, as well, sweetheart," she said, wiping her eyes with a tissue in her hand.

"Thank you," Rachel nodded at her and had one more person she directly wanted to say something to, "Anna, my cousin. We've know each other our whole lives and may times we've been confused for twins. I'm so glad we've been close and maybe a part of me wonders what would have happened if we were. I know dad and daddy would have had their hands full," she smiled at the two men, "but we do have different parents and it doesn't really matter to me. I think of you as a sister; DNA doesn't matter to me," she admitted.

"Same here," Anna agreed with a grin.

"I'm just really happy you all are here to share in our wedding," Rachel finished, tears falling from her eyes.

Noah rubbed her back and smiled, "I'm not the best with words, but you're all family to me in some way. Thank you for all the help planning the wedding and for just being there for us. To Rachel's friends from New York that I've only recently met, you've become my friends and I'm glad Rachel has great friends there and I look forward to getting to know you more. To our friends here, we've all been through a lot together since we were in Glee and I'm really glad you've all stuck by me, us, and I know we'll always be family. Mom, Arin, you two put up with my attitude and I'm sorry it was so bad at times. I'm glad we're past all that and I have you to thank for helping me grow up a lot. If it wasn't for some things you both said, I might not be the man I am today," he said honestly, "Carole, Finn, you two have known me the longest and I'm so glad we were able to work through our issues in high school, Finn, because you're my brother and I'm honored to have you as my best man. Carole, you're like a second mom to me and I'm thankful for all the support and friendship you gave my mom over the years; you both were raising sons as single moms and we were all able to learn together and become close friends and family. Burt, you gave me a job and helped me straighten my life out. Not many would have done that and I've always looked up to you as a dad. Thank you for taking a chance on me," Noah paused and took a deep breath, "Matt, we've been best friends, brothers, for a long time and now we're cops and partners. We've been through some close calls and there isn't anyone else I'd trust to have my back, so thank you for being there," Noah smiled at him and turned to look at Rachel's dads, "David, Alan, thank you for allowing me to be with your daughter, to be in your home and for welcoming me into your family. I'm honored to have two more dads in my life and I promise to love, respect and take care of Rachel for the rest of our lives; she's the one and I'll do anything I can to remind her of that daily," he smiled at Rachel, "I honestly never thought I'd be lucky enough to find someone I want to be with for the rest of my life, but I have and I'm not letting her go," he finished, pressing a kiss to Rachel's lips, which she happily returned.

By the time Noah finished his speech, there was hardly a dry eye in the room; all of the girls and many of the guys were wiping their eyes with tissues or their hands. Deborah, Arin, David and Alan took the opportunity to stand up and move over to Noah and Rachel, sharing hugs with them and assuring them they supported their marriage and were happy to welcome them into their families.

After sharing a few moments with their parents and Arin, Rachel and Noah began to move around the room, sharing hugs with everyone else. Most of them wished them luck for the wedding and their marriage and others promised to always be friends with them and thanked them for what they said.

Noah and Rachel had moved around the room together and by the time they returned to the spot they'd been standing in, Rachel glanced at the TV and noticed there was a two minute countdown to midnight on it. "It's almost midnight!" Rachel gasped.

"I know who I'm kissin'," Noah smirked, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him.

Rachel smiled and slid her arms around his shoulders, "I know that, too, but I just didn't realize the time."

"It's okay. I'm looking at it as the sooner we kiss at midnight, the closer it will be to us becoming husband and wife," Puck said happily.

"There is that," she agreed, blushing and hearing some of their friends counting down with the TV, now just thirty seconds away.

As the last few moments of 2016 flew by, all of the couples got ready and when it finally reached midnight, cheers erupted from the room and on TV, as the ball dropped in New York City.

Rachel stood up on her tip toes and tightened her arms around her fiancé, kissing him for the first time in the New Year and the last time before they became husband and wife. Noah reacted by lifting her up, so her feet were off the ground and held her against him, their lips connected in a gentle yet meaningful kiss as their tongues gently brushed their lips.

Tears of happiness spilled from Rachel's eyes and she couldn't help the intense emotions she was having. She was thrilled to be with Noah, to be surrounded by their friends and family and couldn't wait to say 'I do'. When they reluctantly let their lips break apart to catch their breath, Noah settled her back on her feet and she rested her hands on his cheeks, "I love you so much, Noah."

Noah reached up and gently wiped away her tears and smiled happily at her, "I love you, too, Rachel, and by late this afternoon we'll be beginning the rest of our lives together."

Rachel hugged him tightly, "I can't wait!"

Rubbing her back and holding her close, Noah nodded in agreement, "same here. Happy New Year, baby."

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him and smiled, "Happy New Year, sweetheart."

...

_You're cordially invited to  
the wedding of  
Rachel Marie Berry  
and  
Noah Aaron Puckerman  
in Lima, Ohio at  
William McKinley High School  
at two o'clock in the afternoon  
on the first day of January of 2017_

...

A/N7: Yay, an update! Hope you all enjoyed! Review and let me know, please! I'm still around and I'm going to continue to be here. I know many Glee fan fic writers, as well as Puckleberry writers, have been leaving the fan fic world and I wanted to let you know I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere. I just feel bad when my updates are so far apart. I didn't plan it to be so long between updates, but my depression and anxiety takes a lot out of me, so I've had a cruddy few months, but I'm hoping I'm starting to get better, so maybe things will change. I've got so many ideas in my head for all my fics, but I can't seem to focus to get them out; taking things one step at a time. If only there was a way to connect my brain to my computer; it'd be so much quicker! Thanks for all the support and you can always message me here or on Tumblr or Twitter as EJ8302. Also, thanks for all the reviews! I do read them all and they mean so much to me!

...


	19. Chapter 19

Title: Broken Road, Part 19/?

Disclaimer1: I don't own Glee, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.

...

A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.

A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey, but contains a relationship that began in 2x01 ~ Auditions.

...

**Reminder:** The rating of this story as a whole is 'T/PG-13'. Only chapters 10-12 are considered a rating of 'M/R' due to content.

...

**Sunday, January 1, 2017  
Wedding Day  
**Before Rachel's seven-am alarm went off, she was already up and showered. She'd slept well, but being filled with so much excitement to finally be getting married to Noah, she couldn't sleep past six-fifteen. With her shower out of the way, she spent the morning packing up various bags. Once she left her dads' that morning, she wouldn't be returning until the next day, so she not only needed to have things to get ready at McKinley with, but she also needed the items she wanted to take to Noah's, soon-to-be their place. All those items were going into two small bags, and once she was sure she had everything, she left her room and went down to the kitchen.

"Good morning, daddy!" She grinned, seeing David making coffee.

"There's my girl," David returned her smile and walked over to give her a hug, "it's a big day. Are you nervous?"

"No. I'm super excited," she replied happily, returning his hug.

"I'm glad to hear it," he smiled, rubbing her back gently before pulling away.

"Have you spoken with anyone yet?" She asked, glancing at the time to see it was now a little before eight-am.

"Yes," David nodded, pouring two cups of coffee when it finished, "Will called a bit ago to let me know that he, Emma and Dave are already at McKinley. I think he mentioned last night, but if he didn't, the only doors unlocked from the outside are the main doors, so I passed it on to Ian and his sister, because I know they wanted to get there before the rest of us to set up some of their cameras and get ready for our arrival."

"I don't remember Will mentioning the doors, so thanks for passing it on, but I did know that about Ian," she laughed lightly, "he suggested starting here when I got up, but I said 'no'. I want to remember today with pictures and videos, but I definitely didn't want it to start the moment I woke up."

"That's understandable. You'll have a lot of that today," David agreed as they moved to take a seat at the island in the kitchen, "dad's in the shower and Anna is almost ready."

"Great! I'll be ready to go once I've eaten," she explained, "I know the girls and I agreed to be there by nine, but there's not point in pacing around here, when we can get there and at least have a few more minutes to get ready; there are a bunch of us doing that."

"That's quite alright, sweetheart. It makes sense and it's your day. You call the shots," he smiled, "I can't believe today's the day," he reached over and took her hand, "feels like just yesterday you guys were telling us you were engaged."

Rachel blushed and squeezed his hand, "time has flown by, but I'm so glad it's finally here! All these past weeks of planning are gone and it's time. I'm so ready!"

"I can tell and I'm happy you are," he replied, "have you spoken to Noah since he left last night?"

"No, I didn't know I could," she replied, looking at him curiously.

David nodded, "I don't see why you can't. From what I understand the groom can't see the bride until the ceremony, but you can still talk on the phone."

"Oh, I never thought about it that way, but that makes sense," she smiled, "I'll wait a bit to call him, because I don't know when he's getting up."

"When who is getting up?" Anna asked, entering the kitchen.

"Noah," Rachel replied.

Anna went right for the coffee pot and began pouring a cup before she responded, "why? You're not having cold feet are you?" She asked, turning to look at her concerned.

"No, of course not," Rachel shook her head, "daddy just asked if I'd spoken to him yet and I didn't think I could, but he said we just can't see each other before the ceremony."

"Yep," Anna nodded, "I went to a wedding for a coworker. She and her fiancé spent a lot of time on the phone, talking and texting. Her maid of honor ended up taking her phone away about an hour before the ceremony, because she kept getting distracted," she laughed.

"I won't do that," Rachel promised, laughing lightly with her cousin, "I can put it aside for a while."

"Good, then we won't need to take it away," she replied, winking at her. "You excited?"

"Very excited," Rachel confirmed, seeing Alan enter the kitchen, "morning dad!"

"Hey, ready for your big day?" He asked, finding the coffee.

Rachel nodded and took a deep breath, smiling brightly again, "I am very ready!"

...

Now that everyone was downstairs, the four family members had breakfast together and talked lightly about plans. As it got closer to eight-thirty, they finished up eating and while the girls gathered their things, Rachel's dads changed into their suits for the wedding, but their ties weren't tied and their shirts weren't buttoned or tucked in, things they had time to do when they got to the school.

Piling into her dad's SUV, Rachel took a seat in the back with Anna and pulled her phone from her pocket, immediately calling her fiancé. "Good morning, husband-to-be," she greeted happily as they pulled away from the house.

"A very good morning, wife-to-be," he grinned, returning the affection, "I didn't think I'd hear from you until later."

"I wanted to hear your voice. I'm so excited!"

"I am, too," he agreed, "are you at the school yet?"

"No, but we're on our way. Have you been up long?" She wondered.

"A while. Went for a jog this morning and came back to shower. Just finished with that," he explained, glancing down at the towel around his waist, "I'm gonna get something to eat, finish up around here and then head to the school around nine-thirty. I figure the guys will be there with the girls, so I'll probably be the last one to arrive."

"Don't be too much later, because the florists will be there at ten to deliver the boutonnieres and bouquets, and your side of the bridal party start pictures at ten-thirty."

"I know, babe," he smirked, "I have a few things I want to do here before I go, but they won't take long, so when I'm done, I'll get going. I promise I won't be late," he assured her.

Rachel blushed, "good. Sorry, I know you know when things are happening."

"It's alright, babe. You're just keeping me in check. I don't mind and I get it. It's a big day and we both want things to go smoothly. I'm pretty sure our friends and family will keep an eye on things to make sure we have a stress-free day," he replied, confident things would go well.

"You're right," she nodded in agreement, "and I feel the same way. I think I'm just giddy for things to start, because I just want to get to the ceremony."

"I do, too," he glanced at his clock, "less than six hours from now, we'll be under the Huppah, exchanging rings and saying our vows, so it's not far away at all."

Rachel smiled, "when you put it like that, it isn't that far off," she admitted, feeling excitement building in her stomach the closer they got to McKinley, "I can't wait to be your wife, Noah."

Noah smiled at her words, "and I'm very excited to finally be your husband."

...

The couple spoke for a little longer, until the Berrys arrived at school. Finding a place to park, the couple reluctantly ended their call, so Noah could finish what he needed to do, while Rachel and everyone else continued with their day. The four in the SUV got out and collected the items in the back, Rachel and Anna each carried their dresses and David and Alan carried their tote bags, so they didn't have to take everything. As they locked the doors and began to walk away, Deborah's car pulled into the space next to them, so the four waited and Arin was the first out of the car, rushing over to Rachel, "are you as excited as I am?" Arin asked happily, hugging Rachel tightly.

Rachel returned her hug and smiled, "I'm marring your brother and legally gonna be part of your family in a few hours. I'm definitely super excited!"

"Great! I'm glad I'm not the only one," Arin replied, pulling away and returning to the car to get her dress and bag.

"Hey, sweetheart," she said with a smile, wrapping her arms around her, "you already know this, but welcome to the family."

"Thanks, mom," Rachel smiled brightly, hugging her.

As they pulled apart, Deborah collected her items from her car, and soon the six of them were walking inside, to get into the warmth. The winter day was just over freezing and though the forecast called for rain, so far it was dry, with a cloudy gray sky.

Getting into the school, they were met by Ariel, Ian's sister and the one who had the video camera. She immediately greeted everyone and began recording, asking them a few questions and talking lightly as they walked towards Emma's office. She'd moved into a larger one years prior and now had two small couches and a mirror on the wall, along with carpeting, something most classrooms didn't have have anymore. Her windows and the door also had blinds on them, so someone could change without worrying that someone would see them, and she was happy to offer it to the bridal party. Will and Dave even moved two vanities inside that the Glee club usually used for some extra mirrors and table space for make-up and other items.

Stepping into the office, Rachel smiled when she saw Quinn, Finn, Kurt, Mercedes and Matt, "good morning!"

"Morning everyone," Quinn got up and moved towards her, giving her a quick hug. "We just arrived about ten minutes ago. Tina and Mike are on their way."

"That's great," Rachel smiled, returning her hug and then moving to hug the others, Matt being last, "Matt, I have a request."

"Oh yeah? What's up?" Matt asked curiously.

Rachel hung her dress bag up on Emma's coat rack and then took her bag from her dad, "I got Noah a new watch, engraved with our wedding date and I was hoping you could set it to your watch's time. I think if he wore it at work it'd be important to have the same time," she admitted, holding out the box to him.

"Oh, yeah it is," Matt nodded, taking the item and opening it up, "wow, Rachel, this is a nice watch," he said, pulling it out of the holder, "I don't really think he'd wear it at work, but I can set it," he replied with a smile, taking a seat.

"Thank you," she returned his smile and looked around, "where's Ian?"

"He's taking some pictures around the school," Ariel replied, having paused the recording on the video for a short time. "Oh, and Tammy, Brooke and Courtney are on their way, too."

"Awesome," Rachel took a seat in one of the empty chairs, "and the sound system is set up in the auditorium and all that?"

"Yes, Dave and Will finished that a little earlier and got the lights set how you guys wanted them," Emma explained.

"Okay," Rachel nodded, "sounds like everything is right on schedule. This is great!"

...

After a few minutes of light conversation, Rachel's three other friends from New York and Mike and Tina arrived, and Dave, Will and Ian joined everyone in Emma's office to hang out for a little while. Matt finished Noah's watch and returned it to it's box and gave it back to Rachel.

Soon, Mike, Matt, Finn, Will, Dave and Rachel's dad's left Emma's office and went to Will's classroom, where they'd be getting ready. Like David and Alan, the guys had come wearing their suits, in various states of being put together, so all they needed were a few mirrors set up to fix their shirts and ties and a place to pass the time.

Rachel, the girls and Kurt focused on helping Deborah and Arin get their hair and make-up done, before putting their dresses on, so they were ready when Noah's side of the bridal party did pictures first. Ian and Ariel split their time between Emma's office and Will's classroom, taking brief videos and pictures, but trying not to intrude too much on the preparations.

A little after nine-forty-five, Noah finally arrived with a gift bag in his hand and went right to Will's class to find Finn, Matt, Mike and Dave hanging out, "hey guys."

"Hey, man, it's about time you got here," Finn laughed, "Rachel said you wouldn't be here until later, but I didn't think you'd wait this long."

"I was finishing some things up at my place. Didn't want to do it tonight," he replied honestly, shaking Finn's hand and giving him a quick hug, "how are things going?"

"So far so good," Matt assured him, standing up to hug Noah and shake his hand, "the florist is on their way and I think your mom and sister are almost ready. Oh, and your mom dropped off the box of the Jewish hats we're wearing."

"Great," Noah smiled, "and thanks for wearing them. I know we're not doing everything involved in the Jewish ceremony, but it's nice you guys don't mind having them on," he added, knowing he, Rachel's dads and his side of the bridal party were all going to wear traditional Jewish caps, called a kippah, in white, as one of the Jewish aspects they wanted to keep, but they weren't asking or requiring anyone else to wear them.

"It's your wedding, and we want to respect your traditions," Mike told him.

"It means a lot," Noah replied, taking a seat in an empty chair, "I guess I should let everyone know I'm here," he added, taking his phone out and sending a message to Rachel, David, Alan and his mom.

A few minutes after he sent the message, Ariel, with the video camera, and David came in and David had a gift bag in his hand. "Hey Noah. Glad you made it. The florists just arrived so you guys should start getting ready so we can get going with pictures," he suggested, "but first, Rachel has a gift for you," he said holding out the bag.

Noah smiled and stood up, moving towards David and after hugging him, Noah took the bag and pushed aside the tissue paper to take out the greeting card first. He pulled it from it's envelope and smiled at the cover. It had a bride and groom standing on a decorated chocolate cupcake and inside she'd written a message to him, which Ariel asked him to read out loud, "_Noah, in just a few hours we'll be saying 'I do' and beginning our lives as husband and wife. I'm so excited to finally become Mrs. Noah Puckerman and no matter what time of day it is, I want you to know I love you so much! See you soon, Rachel._"

"I love you, too, Rachel," he added, sliding the card into the bag again and took out the box. Setting the bag aside, he opened the box and looked at the watch inside. The whole watch was black, including the metal links of the band and the face of the watch. The only non-black pieces were the white digital numbers and letters displaying the time, date and details of the watch. "Wow, this is awesome," he smiled, taking it out and flipping it over to see the back, which is when the engraving caught his attention. "_To Noah on our wedding day, 1/1/2017. Love Rachel._"

Taking his current watch off, he pocketed it and easily slid the new watch on, "perfect fit," he smiled, looking up to see Ariel filming him, so he held up his wrist, "thanks, baby. I love it. I hope you like your gift," he motioned to the bag setting on one of the tables.

"Why don't you guys go ahead and get ready, while I take Rachel's gift to her. Then when she's opened it, Deborah, Arin, Alan and I can come over and we can get ready for pictures," David suggested.

Noah nodded, "yeah, sounds good."

...

David and Ariel took Rachel's gift to Emma's office, knocking first before stepping inside. Deborah and Arin were both ready and now the other girls were starting on their hair and make-up, "Rachel, here's your gift from Noah," David said, holding it out to her.

"Awesome! What is it?" She asked, excitedly taking the bag from him.

"I don't know. Open it and find out," he replied, vaguely knowing what one of them were.

Rachel opened the bag and found the card. The cover had a white background, with a silver heart in the center, and a couple standing inside the heart, with the words 'On Our Wedding Day', written on the bottom. Opening it up, she found his handwriting and read what he wrote, "_Rachel, you're an amazing woman and I'm so happy we're finally becoming husband and wife. You're my shining star and always will be and I felt these were the perfect gifts for you. One is a little out of this world, and the other reminds me of the sparkle in your eye when you smile. See you soon, my love, Noah... PS - Part of your gift is at home. It was too big to carry back and forth, so you can see the rest of it tonight._"

"Oh, Noah," she smiled, feeling tears in her eyes. She'd been able to keep her emotions from spilling over, but after his note, she was finding it difficult. Putting the card back inside the bag, she first pulled out the white folder. Inside was a single piece of paper, covered in a plastic sheet protector. It was a letter from a company and when she read over what it said, she gasped, "he registered a star in my name!" She exclaimed, tears slipping from her eyes, "I have a real star!"

Alan and David leaned over her shoulder to read the letter, "I've heard about that. He must have the map and the certificate at his place, because you usually get those with the letter," Alan commented, rubbing her shoulder gently.

Rachel reached for a tissue and wiped her eyes, "I've never gotten a gift like this before," she hugged the folder for a moment and smiled, "this is amazing," she took a deep breath and slid the folder back into the bag and reached for he small velvet box at the bottom, "and he got me something else? He didn't have to."

As she opened the box, her eyes widened when she saw the white gold, diamond and ruby stud earrings. Four small ruby stones were laid together to make the shape of a clover with a diamond in the center, and around the rubies, was a white gold boarder holding more diamonds. "Oh wow! They're gorgeous," she wiped her eyes again, "they're perfect and I'm definitely wearing them today."

...

With gifts exchanged between the couple, the morning began to progress. Since the florist had arrived, and Tina had helped Rachel pick out all the flower pieces, a combination of white carnations and red roses, Tina took charge of the delivery of the flowers. Each table in the cafeteria got a small centerpiece and as soon as they were set up, Ian took some photos of the cafeteria, while no one was in there, and followed them as Tina and the florist set up the flowers in the auditorium, giving the Huppah and a few other places some floral accents.

Rachel, Tammy, Anna, Arin and Deborah all got their bouquets next, and then Deborah and Arin made sure they were ready and went with Tina and the florist to drop off the boutonnieres with the guys. Ian had stayed in the auditorium to take a few final pictures in there while it was empty and then met up with the guys.

While the guys, Arin and Tina helped get the guys' boutonnieres on, Deborah put Noah's on. All of the guys were now wearing a kippah and once the red rose and white carnation boutonniere was pinned to Noah's suit jacket, Deborah rested her hands on her son's shoulders, "you look so handsome, sweetheart," she smiled, fighting tears, "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks mom," he returned her smile and reached up to rest a hand on her cheek, "no crying. It's a happy day."

"I'm trying not to, but today's a big day. My son is getting married," she replied.

"Yeah, I am, but nothing else changes. I'm still your son," he promised, wrapping his arms around her, "always."

"I know you will be," she smiled at his words and relaxed in his arms for a moment, "I love you, Noah."

Noah rubbed her back and smiled, "I love you, too, ma."

...

Finally ready for pictures, Noah, Matt, Finn, Mike, David, Alan, Deborah and Arin headed for the auditorium to start photos with Ian and Ariel. For the next hour and a half, Noah, the guys, his mom and sister posed in various combinations either on the stairs in front of the stage or on the stage, with the Huppah behind them, using the stage's medium gray curtain as a helpful background, because it contrasted well with the black, white and red everyone was wearing. Ian made sure to follow the list Rachel had given him for the photos she wanted and after they'd completed those, they took some time to do a few fun ones and soon Noah, Matt, Mike and Finn were heading back to Will's classroom to hang out.

David, Alan, Arin and Deborah stayed in the auditorium, because Rachel's side of the bridal party was next for pictures. Anna, Tammy and Rachel soon joined the others and David and Alan were getting their first glimpse at Rachel in her dress, veil, Converse shoes and with her bouquet.

"Oh, Rachel, you're gorgeous," Alan smiled, her dads walking to meet her as she came down the center aisle of the seats.

"So beautiful," David added, both men trying to keep from crying.

"Thank you, dad, daddy," she smiled, stepping forward to wrap her arms around them, "I love you both so much."

The two men happily hugged their daughter and calmed down, "we're so happy for you, sweetheart," David said honestly and Alan nodded in agreement.

"I'm really thankful for your support," Rachel replied, continuing to smile, "because today I'm the happiest I've ever felt."

...

As with the guys, Rachel had made a list of photos she wanted to make sure they got and those were the first they took. The afternoon was ticking away and by one guests began to arrive, but no one was being let into the auditorium, so the bridal party could take pictures, and because the beginning of the ceremony began outside the auditorium doors in the foyer.

Once the specific pictures were taken, they had some fun, like the guys had, keeping in mind they didn't have all afternoon to take pictures. By one-thirty they'd finished and everyone returned to Emma's office for a breather, and to relax their jaws from all the smiling.

David slipped out of the room to go see how things were going. Emma, Will, Dave, Quinn, Tina, Mercedes and Kurt seemed to have everything under control and he found Rabbi Goodman and his wife were now there, so they could start anytime, but agreed to begin at two, because that's what they said when they invited everyone.

Stopping by the guys to let them know things were all ready, but were waiting until two, David returned to the girls and passed on the information. The girls put some final touch-ups to their make-up and just before two, Deborah took the Ketuba up to the foyer, where the guests were and laid it out on the table, along with a special pen they'd chosen to sign it with. This was a sign to the guests that the ceremony was about to begin, so Ian got ready with his camera and Ariel had her video camera, ready to capture everything they could.

Deborah returned to Will's classroom to meet up with the guys and by the time two-pm arrived, their guests were all standing in the foyer of the auditorium and the only people absent were Rachel, Noah, their parents and their bridal party.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Rabbi Goodman started, now standing by the table with the Ketuba and raising his voice briefly to catch everyone's attention. As the talking settled, he continued, "I know some of you may be slightly confused at why we're all standing out here, but I assure you it won't be for much longer and as the ceremony goes on, I will explain what is happening. I'm Rabbi Goodman and I was asked by Rachel, Noah and their family to perform today's ceremony. In the next few moments, Rachel, her dads and bridesmaids will join us. You're welcome to greet the bride and pass on your well wishes and congratulations as we wait for Noah and his side of the bridal party to arrive, where the couple will see each other for the first time today," he paused, seeing Rachel's bridesmaids walking through a pathway in the crowd, all dressed in their matching red dresses and Converse shoes. He then noticed David, Alan and Rachel behind them, "and here's the bride now."

The crowd all turned towards them, some clapped, others smiled, snapped pictures or just watched as the ceremony began.

Being escorted by her dads at her sides, with her veil hanging behind her, Rachel smiled and nodded at the familiar faces she passed and after a few moments, the three came to a stop by the table and three chairs. Through they could sit, Rachel opted to stand and she waved at people and some of her family members stepped over to share hugs, congratulating her and her excitement continued to build, knowing Noah would be walking in shortly.

After some of their guests greeted her, they stepped aside so others could do the same, but not everyone took the chance, since not all of them knew Rachel directly, yet. Soon Rachel caught sight of Finn, being taller than most of their guests and knew Noah was near. Finn, Matt and Mike first arrived, coming to stand behind the table and chairs with Anna, Arin and Tammy, and after a few moments, she finally saw Noah and Deborah walking together, through the path made by their guests, so she passed off her bouquet to Arin so her hands could be free.

Like with Rachel, Noah waved and nodded at his relatives, friends and coworkers, but his focus quickly turned to his bride, standing next to her dads and the rabbi, with a bright smile on her face. Returning her smile, he and Deborah stopped as they reached them and after kissing his mom on the cheek, he walked right over to Rachel and put his arms around her, "you are so beautiful," he whispered, being careful that he didn't mess up her hair, veil or make-up.

Rachel happily returned his hug and felt tears stinging her eyes that she begged wouldn't fall and as she pulled back slightly to look up at him, they reluctantly slipped from her eyes, "thank you. You look wonderful yourself."

The couple wanted to kiss, and they could have at that moment, but they'd agreed to hold it until they were officially husband and wife. Reaching up, Noah gently rested his hands on her cheeks and brushed away her tears, realizing she was wearing waterproof mascara and completely understood why; it was a very emotional day and he, too, had tears forming in his eyes. "Thanks... It won't be too long now," he added, hardly aware of their guests at that moment.

"I can't wait," she admitted as she reached up to join her hands with his and as their fingers laced together, they lowered them and turned to the rabbi, so he could continue on with his explanation.

Taking his cue, the older man nodded and turned his gaze on their guests, "beside us on the table is a document you may be curious about. It's a Ketuba, a Jewish marriage contract. In the Jewish faith, this is a common item for a wedding. In many levels of observance in the religion, it's required, but for others it's a choice and in Noah and Rachel's case, they've chosen to have one. When the tradition of the Ketuba first began, they usually were signed by the groom, his witnesses and a rabbi prior to the ceremony and given to the bride, but now-a-days, the bride also signs it and that's what we'll be doing now, but first," Rabbi Goodman turned to Noah and Rachel, "Noah, just to be clear, this is your bride, right?"

Noah turned to look at Rachel and nodded, "yes, yes she is," he confirmed with a smile.

Picking up the pen, the rabbi held it to him, "then go ahead and be the first one to sign your Ketuba."

Taking the offered item, Noah stepped up and found the 'groom' space and easily scrawled his signature across the line, using his full name, then gently blew over the ink to make sure it dried and didn't smear. Standing back he turned to Rachel, who stepped forward and took the pen from him.

Looking at the document, Rachel saw at Noah's signature and then found the two spaces for her. The first line she simply signed her current full name, complete with a five-pointed star at the end, and then below that was a second line for her soon-to-be married name. She'd been practicing her new signature a lot over the past few weeks and now she was officially signing 'Rachel Marie Puckerman' for the first time, and added her star at the end. Mirroring what Noah had done, she lightly blew over the ink, so it would dry quicker and then stood back, smiling brightly as she took Noah's hand and handed the pen over to Finn.

The couple had talked a lot about who their witnesses would be. The witnesses for the Ketuba could not be related to Noah or Rachel, which left out their parents, Noah's sister or Rachel's cousin, Anna. Finn was an easy choice; he and Noah had known each other since childhood and considered each other brothers, so he was close to Noah without being biologically related.

They had several options for their other witness, but it was a little harder to make that choice. Noah thought because Finn was on his 'side' of the bridal party, that Rachel should pick one of her close friends. Rachel appreciated his desire to keep it fair, but as she thought about it, she realized she wanted someone to sign it who'd known her in high school, when she was teased for being different and who also experienced what she went through by being in Glee Club. Rachel quickly realized Matt was a perfect choice. He was like a brother to Noah, he was his police partner, they were best friends and both she and Noah trusted him with their lives, so she and Noah agreed to ask Matt and Finn, and the two guys were happy to be their witnesses.

After Finn signed his name on one of the witness lines, Matt took his turn before passing the pen over to Rabbi Goodman, who happily signed across the document. When he finished, he closed the pen and returned it to Deborah, before turning to Noah and Rachel, "congratulations, Noah and Rachel. It's now time to continue the ceremony, so Noah, would you cover Rachel with her veil?"

Noah and Rachel squeezed hands and turned to face each other. After exchanging smiles, Noah reached behind her to pick up a layer of her veil and carefully brought it forward, laying the thin mesh over her face.

Rachel could still see through it, but it gave her a layer of white over everything she looked at, so she was glad her dads were walking her down the aisle; she definitely didn't want to trip.

"Thank you for standing for this portion of the ceremony," Noah said out loud to everyone, and Dave and Will opened the doors to the auditorium, "please head into the auditorium and have a seat anywhere you'd like. A few seats in the front rows are reserved for specific people, but any other seats are open for you to sit in," he explained, "and as soon as you're all settled, we'll begin the next part of the ceremony."

...

Noah and Rachel's guests slowly made their way into the auditorium, while the bridal party, parents and the rabbi remained in the foyer. The couple waved and greeted friends and family members who walked past, but stayed close to each other, holding hands. After a few moments, Noah turned to her, while keeping their hands laced together and finally took a real look at her dress.

The dress was strapless and made from white and red satin. The upper part was white, and around her waist was a red satin belt, that tied in a bow behind her. From her waist, the dress flared out to a traditional gown shape, but instead of it continuing to be all white, around her knees, the dress became layered, with alternating red and white satin, to give the dress some more flare and originality. Her black and white Converse lightly peaked out from under the bottom of the dress, which was red, and her veil had the red satin sewn around the edge to give it some character.

Rachel could tell Noah was looking at her and her dress, so she moved her other hand, holding her bouquet, aside so he could see better and when their eyes met, even through the veil, she could tell he was fighting tears. Smiling at him, she squeezed his hand gently, "I love you, Noah."

"I love you, too," he replied softly, "you're wearing them," he added, having caught a glimpse of her wearing the earrings he'd given her.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I put them on as soon I got them. They're beautiful; I love them," she glanced down and noticed he had his watch on, "I take it you like it."

"I love it and the engraving," he smiled, "thanks. What did you think about your other gift?"

"She cried," Arin chimed in, unable to resist.

Rachel felt her cheeks flush, but nodded, "yes, I did cry. I was shocked; no one has ever given me a gift like that before. The letter didn't say what you named it, though."

Noah smiled at her, "Rachel Marie Puckerman. I wasn't going to add a last name, but I figured since it was for our wedding and I knew you were legally changing your name to Puckerman, I'd go with it."

Stepping forward, Rachel let go of his hand and wrapped her arm around him, "it's perfect, Noah. I love it."

...

Reluctantly the couple parted once most of their guests were inside and headed to the side entrances of the auditorium. Rachel, the girls and her dads went one way, while Noah, the guys, Deborah and Rabbi Goodman went the other, so the bridesmaids and groomsmen could walk in and meet in the middle, to walk up the center aisle to the stage.

After the guests were seated and everyone was in their place, Will signaled the sound guy to begin the first song, an instrumental version of 'Endless Love', which would play while everyone walked down the aisle, except Rachel and her dads, because she'd chosen another one for them.

On his cue, Rabbi Goodman was the first one to walk into the auditorium. He walked in from the side door, across the carpeted path and to the center of the room, and then turned and walked down the center aisle towards the stage. Climbing the stairs up, he came to stand under the Huppah, facing the audience.

Deborah and Noah walked in next, arms joined and followed the rabbi's path, but as they came to a stop by the stairs, mother and son shared a hug and kiss, before he climbed the stairs and found a place to stand just outside the Huppah, facing everyone and waiting for the others. Deborah took a seat in the front row, and everyone turned to watch Mike and Tammy walking in from opposite sides. Meeting in the middle, they joined arms and walked up the center aisle and the stairs, before parting at the top. Both moved to stand on opposite sides of the Huppah, Mike near Noah and Tammy on Rachel's side, but they left room between them and the canopy for the other two. Matt and Anna, and then Finn and Arin followed Mike and Tammy's paths and the song came to an end as they found their places on the stage.

Noah had let Rachel pick the music and though he expected the song, that she and her dads were walking down the aisle to, to be another instrumental ballad, he was surprised to find it had words. He quickly recognized the ballad by *NSYNC, 'This I Promise You', and smiled brightly at the lyrics as he watched his bride and her dads walk into the auditorium. Tears filled his eyes at the sight and though he tried to ignore them, a few slipped free, so he quickly wiped them away and walked down the stairs of the stage to meet the three Berrys.

David, Alan and Rachel took their time walking into the auditorium and down the center aisle, but the three soon came to a stop at the stairs, where Noah was waiting. The two men lifted Rachel's veil and settled it behind her, as they each shared a hug and she whispered 'I love you' to them. Deborah joined them after a moment and she and Rachel shared a quick hug, while Noah gave each of the guys a hug and thanked them for their support before the three parents took their seats and Noah held out his hand to Rachel.

Rachel happily took his hand, smiling as they climbed the stairs and found their place, together under the Huppah, which in Jewish traditions, represents their first home they'll share together. "I love the songs," he whispered to her as they let the ballad finish playing.

"I'm glad," Rachel replied, squeezing his hand gently.

Rabbi Goodman smiled at them and briefly glanced up to see the microphone hanging from the top of the Huppah, hidden from the view of the pictures, but close enough so it could pick up what he was saying, "at this time, we'll be continuing on with another Jewish tradition," he paused, looking at Rachel.

Following along with tradition, Rachel carefully walked around Noah seven times. While she was doing that, the rabbi stepped over to the small podium under the Huppah. There were three wine glasses and a bottle of sparkling apple cider sitting on top and he opened the bottle and poured some cider into two of the glasses.

As Rachel finished her seventh time, she came to stand beside Noah and the rabbi handed each of them a glass he'd filled and then picked up the third, empty glass. "Noah, Rachel, until now, you've been individuals, so as a symbol of that, please take a sip from the glasses you're holding," he started and when each of them did, he held out the third glass, "now please pour the remainder from your glasses into this glass. By doing that, it represents the lives you are joining together and when you help each other drink from it, it symbolizes your willingness to share your lives as husband and wife."

Noah took the now full glass from him and he and Rachel handed off their empty ones. Turning to each other, Noah carefully held up the glass to Rachel's lips and let her take a sip, before giving her the glass. Mirroring what he'd just done, Rachel let him take a drink and with a little left in the glass, she finished it off before handing it back to the rabbi.

Setting aside that glass for later, the rabbi looked at them, "now join hands and I believe you both have something to say, Noah, go ahead and start."

So her hands could be free, Rachel passed her bouquet to Arin and then she and Noah turned towards each other. Joining hands, they smiled and Noah began his vows, "Rachel, the moment you came back into my life, I knew I had a second chance to be with you and I swore to myself that I'd never let you go again. I love you more than anything, you're beautiful inside and out, you're my shining star, my best friend, you light up my life and you give me a reason to be a better person. I promise to always be honest with you and I'll never give up on our love or our life together. I want you to know that you'll never be alone, I'll always be by your side, supporting you, I'll be your shoulder to cry on and no matter what happens, good or bad, we'll get though it together and I'll spend the rest of my life showing you just how much I love you," he promised, not caring that tears were falling from his eyes.

Rachel reached up and wiped his tears away, her own already falling and she hadn't even begun to talk. After sharing a smile with him, she took a deep breath and began, "Noah, you make me happier than I have ever been. You've seen me at my worst and have been by my side every day. I know no matter what happens, we'll be able to get through it together. I promise that you can come to me for anything and I'll be by your side so you'll never have to face the world alone. I love that I can talk to you about anything and I know you'll never judge me. You make me smile and laugh when I'm down or 'just because' and when I'm with you, I feel so safe and warm. You see me for who I am and always treat me like a princess, even when my hair is a mess and I'm in my pajamas. I promise to always be honest with you and to always believe in our love and life together. You're an amazing man, the light of my life, and I love you with all my heart and I'm so excited to spend the rest of my life as your wife," she finished, finally letting the tears fall.

Noah smiled and stepped closer to her, gently wrapping his arms around her shoulders. They shared a relaxing hug and after a few moments they pulled apart to join hands again and continue the ceremony.

"After those beautiful words, it doesn't need to be done, but legally I do have to ask. Noah, do you take Rachel to be your wife, to stand faithfully by her side, as long as you both shall live?" Rabbi Goodman asked.

"I do," Noah nodded, smiling at Rachel.

"And Rachel, do you take Noah to be your husband, to stand faithfully by his side, as long as you both shall live?"

Rachel smiled brightly, "I do."

"May I have the rings?" The rabbi asked, turning to Finn. Finn pulled the ring box from his pocket and opened it, then stepped forward and placed the two bands in the rabbi's hand. "At this time, while Noah and Rachel exchange rings, I'll give them a phrase they'll repeat. First it will be in Hebrew, but we'll then say the English translation. Noah, will you please take Rachel's ring, place it on her ring finger and repeat after me."

Following the rabbi's instructions, Noah took the ring from the man's hand and Rachel slid her engagement ring off, so her band could go on first. Taking her hand, Noah carefully began to slide the ring on her finger, repeating the Hebrew words the rabbi said and then finished with the English translation as the ring settled into it's new home, "may you Rachel, be consecrated to me, by this ring, as my wife, according to the laws of Ohio state and the faith of Israel."

Rachel smiled happily and returned her engagement ring to the same finger, and then took Noah's ring and mirrored what he'd done, "may you Noah, be consecrated to me, by this ring, as my husband, according to the laws of Ohio state and the faith of Israel," she repeated, continuing to smile at Noah.

Taking back her bouquet with one of her hands, Rachel took Noah's in her other and the couple faced the rabbi, nodding for him to continue.

"Earlier you both signed a Ketuba, along with your two witnesses and myself, which states that today, January 1, 2017, you, Noah, and you, Rachel, willingly enter into this marriage and it serves as a written promise of the vows you've just shared, as well as a reminder of just what these rings mean," the older man paused, smiling at them, "and I pray that your rings and your Ketuba continue to stand as symbols of the love you two share for many, many years to come."

"They will," Rachel replied honestly and Noah nodded in agreement.

The rabbi moved to the podium and wrapped the single glass the couple had both drank from in a heavy white cloth and stepped back to them, "as the wedding ceremony comes to a close, I'd like to welcome the Puckerman and the Berry families together, with the union of Noah and Rachel, who are both gaining family members they've been missing," the man paused and then continued on, "Noah, Rachel, it's been an honor to witness your marriage vows and I wish you a joyous life together," bending down, the rabbi placed the wrapped glass on the floor between them, before standing up straight again, "on the floor, I've placed the glass they both drank from earlier in the ceremony, wrapped in a cloth. After I finish speaking, Noah and Rachel will break it. It's unclear exactly how or why this tradition began, but I see it as a symbol that life is not always easy, there are good times and bad times ahead." Pausing again, he turned his focus back to the couple, "Noah, Rachel, remember your vows and know that you'll be there for each other for support and with a little work, you'll make it through. When you break the glass, we'll all shout 'mazel tov', which means congratulations and then you're welcome to seal your vows with a kiss. Okay?" He asked and when they nodded, he smiled, "then by the authority bestowed upon me, by the laws of the Jewish people and that of Ohio state, it is my sincere pleasure to declare you, Noah, and you, Rachel, to be husband and wife."

Noah and Rachel smiled at each other and stepped forward, stomping on the glass, successfully smashing it into pieces. As 'mazel tov' echoed through the auditorium, Noah closed the distance between him and his wife and kissed her lovingly, his arms snaking around her body to hold her close.

Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck as they kiss and both of them had tears falling from their eyes again. All the weeks of planning finally had come to an end; they were married and now they could focus on their lives together.

Around them, their family and friends clapped and cheered and when the couple reluctantly broke apart, they turned to everyone and waved, "we're married!" Rachel grinned brightly, leaning into Noah to hug him again.

"I know," Noah returned her hug and kissed her cheek, "it's amazing!"

"I agree," Rachel nodded, taking his hand when they pulled apart and moved down the stairs to meet with their parents. Arin followed them and for a few moments the new family shared hugs, before Noah and Rachel continued up the aisle, waving at everyone and heading towards the door Rachel had entered from. As soon as they were out of the auditorium, now in the empty hallway of McKinley, Rachel paused their trek and threw her arms around her husband, "I'm so happy, Noah. I love you."

Noah gladly returned her hug and relaxed as he held her close, "so am I, babe and I love you, too."

...

A/N7: I'm so happy they're finally married! This was a fun and emotional chapter to write. Hope you all enjoyed. Please review and let me know!  
A/N8: The past six - eight months have been really rough on me. My depression kicked in and it kept me unfocused and made it really hard to write. In the last month or so, my writing mojo has finally come back and I'm going with the flow right now. If you follow me on Tumblr, you may have seen my posts about it. I'm so happy it's back. I'm finally able to think about my fics, come up with ideas and focus enough to write without taking a month to finish a 10-15 page chapter. Now it's taking me 1-2 weeks. I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update my WIPs. I got so behind, but thankfully, now that things are coming back to me, I hope I can catch up with my fics and keep the updates coming a little more regularly than they have in the past. Unfortunately, there are a lot of family medical issues returning, that we thought were behind us, so I don't know what the future holds. My writing gives me a way to get away from the drama and for now, I'm focused on catching up with my fics and seeing where things take me. I hope my mojo sticks around, because I'm loving the new ideas I'm coming up with. I want to thank you all for the support and for sticking by me and my fics. It really means a lot. Many of you have become good friends and I'm so thankful to have met you all. I also want to thank the readers who have recently reviewed, liked or followed one of my stories. It's an amazing feeling to know I'm still getting new readers! You all are awesome and I promise I'm sticking with my fics and Puckleberry! I have lots of new story ideas and I even have 2 more unposted WIPs that I was working on a few years ago that I'll be posting one day.

Below are some specific notes about references, credits and songs from this chapter.

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I hope you liked the ceremony. I kept in mind that this is fiction and I can do anything, but I also wanted to respect the Jewish traditions and keep many of them, in some form. I changed the wording around for some things and I didn't want to follow along to any one reference, so I took bits and pieces I liked from each link below and created my own ceremony, which is why I didn't make any direct references to a certain link in the chapter. I'd really like to thank my friend, Elisheva, who is Jewish and helped me find some of these references for the ceremony. She also told me a bunch of info along the way and I have done research in the past for weddings and events for my other fics; it was definitely a lot of research for this fic, which is cool, because I love researching things.

**Links note:** Due to issues listing links here, **all** links are listed on my LJ's post for this chapter. Link to my LJ is on my FF profile page.

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**Noah's gifts to Rachel:  
Stars** can be named at the 'Star Registry'... Due to issues listing links here, a link for this is listed on my LJ's post for this chapter. Link to my LJ is on my FF profile page.  
**Earrings:** From Zales... You can see a picture and link posted on my LJ post for this chapter. Link to my LJ is on my FF profile page.

**Rachel's gift to Noah:  
Watch:** From Amazon... You can see a picture and link posted on my LJ post for this chapter. Link to my LJ is on my FF profile page.

...

**Disclaimer2:** Credit for the songs mentioned in this chapter belong to their rightful owners. I'm just borrowing for this work of fiction - I don't own!

**Songs mentioned:  
**- An instrumental version of **'Endless Love'**. The original lyrical version was written by Lionel Richie and performed by him and Dianna Ross. The song was also in '1x10 - Ballad' of Glee as a duet between Rachel and Will.  
- **'This I Promise You'** by *NSYNC. It's on their 'No Strings Attached' album and was a single in 2000. Link to video:

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